Hidden Faithlessness

Jeremiah 37-39, records the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon, and the burning of the city. In chapters 37-38, just prior to the fall, Jeremiah is imprisoned for speaking the Word of the Lord. He told the people judgment was coming and the only way to avoid such destruction was to surrender to Babylon. Neither the people nor their leaders heeded Jeremiah's words and judgment came upon Judah. From the greatest to the least, Judah could no longer deny that Jeremiah's word was true. Their imprisonment and persecution of him accomplished nothing for them except to give evidence of their continued rebellion. The remarkable thing I noticed in these chapters is the continued denial of the truth of Jeremiah's prophecies by Zedekiah and other leaders even as they seen them being fulfilled in front of their eyes.

In the world of psychology, such denial is called the "normalcy bias." In short: People believe that since something has never happened before, it never will. People have a really hard time preparing for and dealing with something they have never experienced. The normalcy bias causes smart people to underestimate the possibility of a disaster and its effects.

A great example is found in Barton Biggs' book, Wealth, War, and Wisdom:

"By the end of 1935, 100,000 Jews had left Germany, but 450,000 still [remained]. Wealthy Jewish families... kept thinking and hoping that the worst was over...

Many of the German Jews, brilliant, cultured, and cosmopolitan as they were, were too complacent. They had been in Germany so long and were so well established, they simply couldn't believe there was going to be a crisis that would endanger them. They were too comfortable. They believed the Nazi's anti-Semitism was an episodic event and that Hitler's bark was worse than his bite. [They] reacted sluggishly to the rise of Hitler for completely understandable but tragically erroneous reasons. Events moved much faster than they could imagine."

This is one of the most tragic examples of the devastating effects of the "normalcy bias" the world has ever seen. Just think about what was going on at the time. Jews were arrested, beaten, taxed, robbed, and jailed for no reason other than the fact that they practiced a particular religion. As a result, they were shipped off to concentration camps. Their houses and businesses were seized. Yet most Jews Still didn't leave Nazi Germany, because they simply couldn't believe that things would get as bad as they did.

Whether you call it, "normalcy bias" or just good old fashion stick your head in the sand Denial. The bottom line is such acts of denial that disregard the word of God are nothing more than pure faithlessness. It is a dangerous thing to believe that just because you have never experienced it means it does not happen. Such denial is a façade, a thin layer of pretense that can blind us from the truth.

The normalcy bias pops up in many areas of our faith. We may have never experienced a miracle but it does not mean they never happen. We may have never heard God's voice but we should always believe he is a living speaking God. We may have never, "done church that way" but we know if Scripture affirms it then we can't deny a new wine skin on the grounds of the normalcy bias.

The opposite of the normalcy bias is Situational awareness. It involves having a real perception of your environment and a comprehension of what realistically may transpire in the near future. A Christian's situational awareness is guided by the word of God. We have assurance of our long term future so we can act courageously to respond to situations in the short term. Generally, scripture requires us to be watchful, vigilant in prayer, and always open hearted to God's lead and clear thinking about the facts of a situation. So if judgment comes we can respond in faith and obedience and even if you don't like to hear it, we can hear clearly and respond rightly when God says “surrender to Babylon”

May God give us a love for His truth that imparts the courage to not fall into such traps.