The one who states his case first seems right,
until the other comes and examines him. – Proverbs 18:17
Could the author of the Proverbs be suggesting that we are prone to gullibility? Is it fair of him to imply that we are easily persuaded by information when we only have one-half of the story? This is an indictment against hasty judgments, which are as evil as corruption itself. After all, one tale is compelling until another tale rebuffs it. Without two sides to a story, we are poor arbiters.
If the process currently going on to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court seems to be teaching us anything, it is how knee-jerk many of us can be when it comes to arriving at beliefs without being privy to first-hand facts. “I believe him!” “I believe her!” In the Senate, trust or distrust for the candidate or his accuser almost always follows party lines, even as a final week of investigation is underway. A few votes are up in the air, but those are certainly going to be driven more by political considerations than by any new clarity of information.
I know what I am inclined to believe. Anyone who knows me well probably knows what I am inclined to believe. But, I am not writing today to support my position or to attack the other one. On the contrary, I think it would be of value for each of us to consider how we arrive at such strong, immovable positions, even in the midst of uncertainty.
Recently, a friend posted a comment reflecting a certainty that Russia “had something” on Trump. I asked what the evidence was. The party did not appear to want to defend the premise other than to say, “That’s my opinion!” That got me to thinking about how loosely we use the term “opinion.” Opinions are judgments about qualitative matters. “I like deep, dark hues of green better than I like bright, loud hues!” “I think a good brisket makes for better Bar-B-Q than any piece of chicken or pork!” Those are my opinions, and no one can disprove them empirically any more than I can prove them. But, if I assert that the Russians have “the goods” on the President, that is not really the domain for opinion. They either do or they do not. My opinion might one day earn me a reputation as a psychic, but it might also find me to be a slanderer. Facts, if they come to light, will make that determination.
Regarding matters that require factual and not qualitative judgments, why are our opinions so strong, when, logically, they are not even appropriate? We really do not KNOW anything without facts. Against the backdrop of the Kavanaugh process, a loved-one asked me, “Why do ____________ ALWAYS believe the _______? My reflexive response might have been, “Why do _______________ ALWAYS believe the _________? (Feel free to insert the word-sets “conservatives/man” or “liberals/woman” as you see fit. That is not the point.) I did not answer according to my reflex because I knew that both statements were certainly over-the-top generalizations. Still, the passions run high as people of every ilk bite into a position and lock-down on it like pit-bulls.
The acrimony over this immediate matter distresses me as it does many, but I learned something about myself when I went to pray about it. I learned that I could not quite bring myself to articulate a prayer that my party would be vindicated. Something inside of me knew that to do so was tantamount to asking God to side with my useless opinion. I could pray for a speedy resolution to the matter. I could pray for reliable facts to come out. I could pray for light upon the issue. I could pray for the authentic victim to be vindicated. But, to pray for my preferred outcome, when I cannot know all of the facts, seemed a little reckless. God is omnipotent. God is sovereign. I am neither. Entering His presence reminds me of that.
No one seems to be latching onto a position in this current matter because of empirically established data. We are shaped by our experiences, politics, biases, ideologies, distrusts, fears, judicial values – anything and everything but knowledge, and these others things are only a recipe for hasty and uninformed judgments.
It is in gut-wrenching times like these that we do not look for support and solace in the companionship of those who agree with us, speaking similar words without knowledge. There very well may be something quite sinister being played out before our eyes. Nevertheless, peace comes only from believing and trusting that God is directing the course of nations, utilizing and steering the vices as well as the virtues of those in charge, or so they think.
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