By Pastor RAUL GRANILLOCognitive Dissonance.
Cognitive Dissonance – The state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.
As a small child, I remember taking sips from my dad’s beer at every opportunity I could; I watched him get drunk countless times and scare me with who he would become. I took a drink so that I could be more like him.
I remember the first time I took a chew of Copenhagen; a guy with half his face gone had recently spoken at the school about the dangers of tobacco. I took a chew and thought, “Cowboy up.”
I remember the first time I took a drag of a cigarette in the alley behind the high school; my grandfather died of throat cancer. I took a drag and thought, “I never met him anyway.”
I remember the first time I snorted a line of cocaine; I knew this drug could destroy everything. I pulled ninety bucks out of my pocket and paid for the opportunity to find out.
I remember the first time I smoked meth; I watched family and friends lose their jobs, families, self-respect, steal from their own mothers, and disappear into the thick cloud of smoke. “I’m different,” I thought.
Cognitive dissonance is the act of excusing behavior you know is wrong by ignoring reality. It causes us to live in a fantasy that convinces us that some of the most ridiculous attitudes, behavior, or other practices are reasonable. It can be obvious in the stuff that I listed above, but it is very prevalent in the hidden areas of our lives as well.
The book of Joshua accounts for the Israelites finally getting to, and dividing up the land that God had promised them. Their journey seemed to be complete, and all was left for them to do was to enjoy the fruits of their obedience to God. But in the last chapter of the book, Joshua finishes dividing up the land and reminds the people of all the work that God had done to free them from slavery, to provide for them, to protect them, and to faithfully bring them into the land He promised them. And then Joshua makes a bold statement: “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15 NASB).
Joshua is pointing out the temptation the Israelites would face, to engage in cognitive dissonance. It was Yahweh who had freed them, who had provided for them, and who had faithfully delivered them. The gods their forefathers worshipped in Egypt had left them as slaves in Egypt because they were imaginary gods. The gods of all the other people that they had encountered were useless against the one true God, Yahweh, because, they too, were simply not real. Of course, the Israelites could do what they wanted. “Make a choice,” Joshua urged; either practice acts that you know are useless, or, commit to engaging in a real life relationship with the one true God. Fish, or cut bait!
Every one of us knows this battle; the need to justify our behavior or attitude so that we can continue to act in ways that that are proven to be harmful. I know, personally, how easy it is to actually try to redefine reality for the sake of inner peace; but do we realize how ridiculous that is? I can still hear myself justifying my actions—in hindsight, I know I had to have sounded like an absolute fool!
I had tried every other means I could to find my place in this world. But one day, I had to admit that what I was doing wasn’t working. It may have been acceptable to everyone around me, but that only proved that I wasn’t on the crazy train alone. To step into reality, I had to drop to my knees and choose exactly who I was going to serve. I chose the path of reality, I chose to serve God, and he immediately began the painful and often humiliating process of opening my eyes to the reality I had created.
So the question is, what behavior are you making excuses for? What is it in your life, that you know is wrong, but you work so hard to justify? What is holding you back from reality? You have a choice; you do not have to be a slave to fantasy for your God desires to free you and give you real peace.
To find out more about La Vista Church, or to hear this and other messages, visit our website at www.lavistanaz.org or email me at raul@lavistanaz.org. Follow Pastor Raul on Twitter @RaulGranillo007
Please come join us as we fix our eyes on Jesus. We meet Sundays at 9 a.m. for Sunday school and 10 a.m. for worship. Everyone is welcome!