"It is wretched to know that one is wretched, but there is greatness in knowing one is wretched." Blaise Pascal
I suspect that many in today's Western church would have serious reactions to the writings of this great French philosopher/mathematician who lived in the 1600's. Their protestations might sound like this: "My dear Pascal, you sound so negative! Wretchedness? Do you not realize that the Gospel is positive? In our church we just want people to feel good about themselves. Isn't the Gospel supposed to be Good News? Can't we just focus on the goodness in people?"
Though wretchedness sounds like a "negative" to American sensibilities, Pascal links the self-awareness of it with the idea of true greatness. In his Pensees, he goes to some length to develop the idea that truth cannot be accurately comprehended if the seeker of truth is not honest about him/herself. In his words, "Those who do not love truth excuse themselves on the grounds that it is disputed and that very many people deny it." The truth that Pascal asks us to see is the paradox of our humanity--that we are great and wretched at the same time. A correlated thought is that the greatness inherent in humans, placed there by God, cannot be seen until we are willing to embrace the awareness of our depravity. To be sure, to focus only on our dark side would lead one to despair. To disavow our wretchedness, however, is to be taken captive by denial. Call it what you will--the dark side, sin, self-deception--it is never too far from the surface of our daily lives. Every time I am cut off by another driver on the freeway, it is definitely not goodness that rises in me.
Being honest enough to accept both sides of one's being is not a case of positive or negative. It is about authenticity. To paraphrase another writer, God has not called us, nor does he expect us, to be good. Rather, the call is to be real. In a culture consumed by appearances, the concept of authenticity is counter-cultural. Indeed, it is far easier to settle for superficial myopic optimism.
Let me close with a few basic questions. In what settings does the obsession with "looking good" take precedence in your life? What would need to change for you if a commitment to authenticity was established and then practiced with regularity? Are you ready to make the change?
