In 2 Cor 3:12-18, Paul gives a key to spiritual growth. Such growth can occur only if the believer looks at Christ and is transformed into His image by the Holy Spirit. We see Christ in the words of Scripture. These inspired writings reveal Him to us and show us how we should live.
But we can ignore what we see in the Word. We can read a passage and conclude that things are not as the Word says. It might point out a sin in our lives that we need to consider, but we can convince ourselves that there’s no problem.
We see examples of our ability to think this way. I’ve heard people say that they don’t like to be recorded on video because the camera adds ten pounds to their body. If a person is convinced that he weighs 180 pounds, he might watch a video of himself and think it misrepresents him. He will say, “I look fatter in that video than I really am. I look like I’ve put on ten pounds, but I haven’t.” The truth may be that the camera is showing him a problem of which he’s unaware!
The same thing can happen when someone asks, “Do these jeans make me look fat?” Sometimes the question is posed as a joke. The implication is that the jeans are the problem, not the extra weight we’ve put on. We don’t weigh more, we just need to find a different pair of jeans—probably some that aren’t as tight.
When you hear your voice on a recording, what do you think? Most of us think we don’t sound like that. The recording makes us sound “weird.” We might even say, “That microphone is messed up. It distorts my voice.” If a friend hears you say something like that, he’ll likely say, “That’s exactly how you sound.”
I understand that a camera may indeed make us look bigger than we are. I’m sure that certain clothes can have the same effect. There is no doubt that a microphone can malfunction and distort the sound it records coming out of our mouths.
But most of the time, the camera, clothes, and microphone accurately depict reality. Maybe we’re bigger than we think. Maybe our voices aren’t as smooth and elegant as we believe. Maybe we have an irritating, squeaky, nasal voice and are unaware of it!
The great news is that the Scriptures always accurately show what is true. If the Scriptures show us that our thoughts, deeds, and character don’t “look” the way we think they do, the Scriptures are right, and we need to face reality. If they show us that our speech is not edifying, we need to adjust our speech, even if we didn’t think it was a problem.
The flesh is a powerful thing. It can blind us to what is right before our eyes. Paul says we should look at the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to use what it reveals to make us more like Christ. Let us allow the Word to accomplish that work, without making excuses. The camera and microphone usually tell the truth. The Scriptures always do.
