Tunnel Vision
January 13, 2011
Excerpt from Psalm 40:1-11
"Happy are those…who do not turn to idols or join those who worship false gods." (Good News Bible)
Reflection by William C. Green
Idolatry is trusting what ends up breaking our hearts. In our day the culprit is often said to be the love of money, success, pleasure, or, perhaps, a partner thought to offer as much. But these are not the real heartbreakers. What shatters us is more subtle. It can sneak up without our knowing it. It sounds less dramatic than the havoc it wreaks. It's called tunnel vision.
Tunnel vision fixates on part of what we face. I see what I want to be true about a friend, a partner, or a job—or I see what's dead wrong—and it's as though that's the gavel. Court adjourned. This way of reacting can acquire a godlike grip on us. This is idolatry. Devoted to our own moods and reactions we come to a dead end. It's heartbreaking.
When we're finally disillusioned, what can we do? We know we're missing something. It isn't found where we've looked before. But maybe then, like a beginning swimmer learning to trust the water, we can quit clutching our own feelings and look less anxiously at what's before us. Maybe we will learn that we're held up by something broader and deeper than we've taken into account. Faith gives that a name. The grace of God.
Prayer
You hold me up in the palm of your hand, God. Your love is what I've been looking for. I see what I've been missing. I want to look again at what I face. Amen.
Check out "A Book of (Un)Common Prayers" by the Writer's Group—fits in pocket or purse, so you can take it with you.
