October 4, 2017 - - Proverbs 4:14-18 Pareidolia: seeing faces
/14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
Proverbs 4:14-18 NKJV
Pareidolia. Though you make not have heard the term before, by the way it is pronounced: par-i-DOH-lee-a, likely you have had the experience it describes. Pareidolia is the term scientists and psychologists use to describe a person who looks at an inanimate object and sees a face. You have seen maybe two blueberries near the top edge of a plate and one raspberry near the centre and a smudge of chocolate and for a brief instant it looks like a face. Or you see a gnarled old willow tree and the twists in the trunk and the exact placement of bits of green growth make it look like it has eyebrows and a branch stump nose and hollow for a mouth.
The author of proverbs is describing two kinds of people. Each person can see a face in or behind every activity. It is the face that compels them and draws them.
The first group are the wicked, and they are drawn to the face of the devil. Through his many disguises and foul trickeries these folks see and are taken in deeper and deeper into sins. Violent consequences notwithstanding, such people keep pursuing that elusive face that at first appeared so human, so captivating.
The second group are those who see the face of Jesus. Each day's activities, each verse of scripture, each trial and each triumph are bits of reflecting glass that allows them to catch a brief glimpse of the Glorious One. No matter the trials and suffering, there is a clear pathway to the Person Who ultimately can make sense of it all.
Today, before you waste time on your computer, whose face are you seeking out? Before you watch another movie, whom do you hope to meet? If you haven't articulated whom you hope to meet, do not be shocked when it is the devil toying with you. When you are making your plans, or talking about a co-worker, or cleaning your place--in each moment of each day you are entering a path and I ask you: whose face are you perceiving?
Spirit of Understanding and keen perception, it is all too easy for me to stumble and fall, following false paths pursuing a barely recognizable visage. Let my heart and mind seek only Jesus and direct my feet on the right road. Increase my ability to know and recognize Him in every part of my life so that I will wind up in the arms of my Father in heaven with the crown of glory He has prepared for all the just who walk in the way of the Son. Amen.
