Untitled Sermon (3)

I - A prefect story of me falling victim to Cognitive Dissonance

W -

TRANSITION: What I experienced is something we all experience a little bit every day.

Neurosciences have a word for this kind of discomfort. Cognitive Dissonance.

There is a lot more to this idea than we will talk about today. Scientists believe it is responsible for some of the most illogical things people do! But for our purposes I am going to simplify it.

Its what happens when two conflicting beliefs or behaviors are charging down the tracks at each other. Its much easier to see in others than in ourselves.

I want to be healthy but I want the donut

I need to pay my credit cards off BUT That new truck/tv/boat/xbox

A politition you hate Does something you like

A prominent respected pastor Gets accused of Sexual Assault

You smoke a pack of cigaretts a day BUT Refuse to use Fabreeze b/c of the “cancer causing chemicals

Politics exposes you to this all the time.

ect.

ect.

When your brain notices this kind of conflict it does everything it can (consciously and subconsiously to prevent a TRAINWRECK.

Minimize the importance of one of the Beliefs or Behaviors Or minimize/ignore the conflict

“one donut wont make or break my diet”

Rationalize, Justify, or explain away the difference

“its ok for me to eat this donut because the diet has been going great and I deserve a reward.”

“This is a one time thing, I’ll never do it again

Change and Belief or Behavior - the most difficult and painful option

“Forget being healthy!”

What do we do when facing Cognitive dissonance?

OR “I better put the donut back.”

Change Behavior

Resolution

ignore

you breathe a sigh of relief and the discomfort goes away.

Justify

We have a pretty impressive way of handling this feeling but clearly it doesn’t usually lead us in good directions. It may alieviate pain in the short term but it can cause tremendous long term harm.

We can all think of that person whose life is a trainwreck because of the way the rationalize and excuse terrible life choices.

G -

TRANSITION: As I was reading this week it became clear to me that James is trying to make his readers SEE the conflict between their Ideas and their Behaviors. He is trying to make them see the Cognitive Dissonance they are living in.

James has been cultivating cognitive dissonance in his audience through all of chapter three.

Illus: James is polishing a mirrior. He is trying to make his readers aware of the Dissonance between their Belief and Behavior

They have already resolved the dissonance, James is trying to bring it back

James’ sermon about our speech is coming to a head. He is building and building and building. Polishing that mirrior

He started exposing the power of the tongue and the way our words reveal what is going on in our hearts.

Helping the audience to see their passionate theological debates differently.

Helping the readers to see the IMPACT their words have on others but also on their own hearts.

He drove the point home a little more

Helping readers to see the ways they have misplaced the order of things, placing ideas and ideologies and isms and things over people.

It all builds up to this climax

It’s James’ literal come to Jesus moment. It all comes to a head in what looks to me one of the most powerfully convicting passages of scripture I have read in a while.

James says It is Far WORSE THAN YOU THINK

James’ way of saying. Yes this is really a problem.

The New International Version Chapter 4

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

The readers may think of their verbal quarrels and even interpersonal violence, real or otherwise as justified.

Or righteous

James pokes holes in their justifications. Your fights aren't righteous fights over what is GOOD they are petty quarrels because you are not being afforded the victory you think you deserve. You don't have what you need because you don’t ask for the right thing.

And when you do its with the wrong motives so you can please yourself

The New International Version Chapter 4

4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?

you think you are Zealous. GOD IS ZEALOUS for you.

James lays it on thick. Thicker than the reddest faced pupit poundingest preacher.

Sweat dripping down his brow, voice raspy from shouting.

But this isn’t verbal abuse. This isn’t a guilt trip. This isn’t James’ anger saltwater out of the spring of an angry heart.

No.

This is an intervention. Throughout and into he has been polishing a mirrior. wearing off what obsures so that readers like us can see what we look like.

So we can be confronted with the parts of ourselves we would rather not see. James shines that mirrior.

This is the tongue, this is what it can do, this is true wisdom, this is false wisdom.

And there is a part of us that keeps looking for excuses for justification or distraction. But James says LOOK, look in that mirror.

She shines it up, holds it in front of our faces and says, LOOK!

and the audiance is not supposed to like what they see. Sometimes we dont like what we see.

And it hurts, it makes us uncomfortable and when we are uncomfortable we look for easy answers and quick fixes. We look for escape hatches, we put up shields, we look for excuses. We want to resolve the cognative dissonance.

Our minds start looking for any place to hide. An excuse, a justificaiton, a resolution.

The New International Version Chapter 4

6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud

but shows favor to the humble.” q

Here is the key.

All of this

Y-

Transition: So James has polished up the mirror for us. And the question is will we have the strength to look at our flaws and our failures?

To feel that cognative dissonance. That painful feeling that occurs when what we think and what is real don't quite match up.

and to humble ourselves enough to stop

1. ignoring the problem

2. minimizing it

3. Explaining it away

And instead

As you look into that mirrior today.

Is there a pattern of behavior that you know is wrong, but you keep doing it?

A way of looking at the world that hurts you and others, but you cant shake it?

Is there a value you hold that is at odds with what God wants for you?

If you are seeing those things this morning, my guess is that every part of you is pushing you to resolve the conflict. To make another excuse for that behavior, to justify that way of looking at the world, or to do some mental gymastics to keep holding that value.

When we face cognative dissonance it hurts, we dont like it.

Your mind is telling you if you just ignore it or justify it that feeling will go away. But if you listen to James, that isnt what God wants for you.

He wants to set you free from that behavior, worldview, and misplaced value that is holding your captive.

Humble yourself before the lord and he will lift you up.

As you look in that mirrior is there something in your life you have been trying for a long time to not see. Something you just dont want to look at

Humble yourself enough to admit if only to God the wrongness, the way that sin is destroying you and others. And be willing to accept the free grace he offeres.

And you will find freedom on the otherside.

W

James doesn’t speak in this harsh way because he is cruel.

His aim and the aim of scripture isn’t to make us feel bad.

We don’t look into this mirror to make ourselves feel bad.

He is arguing, cajoling, reasoning, pleading with his audience, as God pleads with us, for their and our own benefit.

Because on the other side of humility. On the otherside of painful cognaitive dissonance. ON the otherside of confession, on the ohterside of the death of the old self. On the other side is resurrection. We resist crossing the river because it looks cold, dangerous, and painful (and it is.) But redemption, restoration, real growth is right on the otherside.

New Life is on the otherside.

Ressurection is on the ohtersie

Eternal life is on the otherside.

ANd it is worth it to humble yourself enough to make the trip.