People Only See What They Want To See

Isaiah 56:10, “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.”

The old adage is true: People only see what they want to see.

A ministry friend recently shared his frustration with me in dealing with a Roman Catholic friar. They were debating over Saint Augustine's negative views and comments concerning women. As expected, the Catholic Friar spoke high words of praise in defense of Augustine.

I wrote back to my friend and told him that I go through the same frustrating phenomena with professed Christian clergy all the time, who bizarrely insist that Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a born again Christian, when Luther's catechisms (which were written in 1529, twelve years after his alleged conversion to Christ in 1517) all require Sacramental Salvation to get to Heaven.

Martin Luther Taught That Water Baptism Saves

Tragically, many church pastors and layman alike only see what they want to see. There is nothing more dangerous than the inspired Holy Bible in the hands of an incompetent preacher. Isaiah 56:10, “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.”

People tend to only see what they want to see due to motivated perception, where our desires and beliefs influence our interpretations of reality. That is to say, we all see through a selfish filter. This can lead to biases in how we process information, often focusing on aspects that align with our preferences, beliefs or expectations. This is why the old adage is true: To the man with a hammer in his hand, everything looks like a nail sticking up.

According to Psychology Today...

This phenomenon, called motivated perception, has been explored in psychological research for decades. Indeed, the world as we conceive it in our awareness is not exactly an accurate representation of what it truly is. Our perception is often biased, selective, and malleable. Even our desires can affect what we see by impacting the way we process visual information. READ MORE

In the Bible, the phrase “seeing they see not” refers to people who observe but fail to understand or perceive the truth. This concept is highlighted in Matthew 13:13b, where it states, “because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.” Jesus spoke in parables to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of God to those who seek the truth, while concealing the truth from those who are indifferent or hostile.

Matthew 13:13-15 “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”

One of my favorite Bible teachers at Hyles-Anderson College (where I attended between 1985 to 1993 when I graduated) is Pastor Brad Strand in Texas, who writes:

Parables were given to illustrate doctrine, not to declare it.. In other words, it would be wrong to build a case for some doctrine on the basis of a parable. Parables were designed to teach a heavenly truth and to reveal some kind of character flaw within human nature, not exemplify doctrine. Only two of the forty-one parables given to us by Christ are explained by him (Parable # 5 - Mt 13:18-23 and Parable # 7 - Mt 13:24-30, 36-43), which sets the standard for the interpretation of all parables. 

Christ used parables for 2 reasons: 

1. To reveal truth (Mt 13:10-11) - Only the humble and spiritually awakened benefited from parables (Mt 11:25-26). As long as you were willing to admit having character flaws, you were able to benefit from parable
2. To conceal truth (Mk 4:10-12, Lk 8:9-10 and Acts 28:25-27) - Parables were used to hide truths from unreceptive hearts, which cared more about entertainment than salvation. 

NOTE  - Because there is no common accepted definition of the parable, it is difficult to say just how many parables are present in the Gospels. The exact number depends on one's definition of a parable. If the word parable is taken to include proverbs, riddles, and simple comparisons as well as those in story form, the number is about sixty in all. If one's interpretation of a parable does not include proverbs, riddles, and simple comparisons as well as those in story form, then Christ gives us a total of 41 parables.

While it is true that many of the Old Testament prophets and saints (righteous men) may not have understood the actual death, burial and resurrection of Christ (Lk 18:34 and 1 Peter 1:10A), it is also true that every Old Testament saint understood the “facts” behind the actual death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and it is the “facts” behind the Gospel that save a person (1 Cor. 15:1). —Pastor Brad Strand, 'The Strand Study Bible' (.PDF); commentary for Matthew 13:10, p. 1494

Bravo! That is beautiful. I bought five copies of The Strand Study Bible (2 new and 3 used). I wanted to get them before they're forever gone! I cannot recommend Brother Strand's study Bible enough. He is a brilliant Bible teacher, a sweet man and I cherish his work for Christ.

It is in our sinful human nature to only see what we want to see, which is why the inspired Scripture says in Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”