Stepping Back...

David Brooks wrote a great article in the NYTimes about the weakness in our country's moral character, specifically lamenting the mental component.  He compares the early 1800's to today's willingness and ability to consider our weaknesses, our sinfulness, the possible "wrongness" in our positions and opinions. He says:
In this atmosphere, we’re all less conscious of our severe mental shortcomings and less inclined to be skeptical of our own opinions. Occasionally you surf around the Web and find someone who takes mental limitations seriously. For example, Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway once gave a speech called “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment.” He and others list our natural weaknesses: We have confirmation bias; we pick out evidence that supports our views. We are cognitive misers; we try to think as little as possible. We are herd thinkers and conform our perceptions to fit in with the group.


Nothing is really new here...thirty years ago when I studied persuasion a la Aristotle we were discussing the same thing.  What is new in the mix is the ability to so completely avoid facts and opinions with which we disagree and the constant stream of unverified, even false information used as gospel truth.  Brooks says:
To use a fancy word, there’s a metacognition deficit. Very few in public life habitually step back and think about the weakness in their own thinking and what they should do to compensate. 


As I work on the bulletin for Sunday's service, I prepare the corporate, public, confession of sin.  If we take it seriously, we are publicly "stepping back and thinking" about our weaknesses, hopefully considering what we might do to compensate, and then rejoicing that even in our weakness we are forgiven and have a new start through the grace of God.


My young adult children are grieving the tone of the political debate and the apparent brokenness of our way of trying to live together as a country.  They wonder what can be done.  They wonder what they can do.  They feel hopeless and helpless.


Me too, sometimes.  But is that one strength of corporate worship?   If we worship in awareness and not in habit on most Sundays (recognizing, or course, in a very reformed way that our worship will never be perfect, from outside or inside...) does that allow God (and encourage us) to work on building our moral character?  Isn't it interesting that church is one of the few places left that "steps back" on a regular basis.  


Course, that doesn't mean that we can always see our weaknesses--even as church...but I suppose it can be a start.  Stepping back now...