American cartoonist William Ely Hill published “My Wife and My Mother-in-Law” in an American humour magazine in 1915, with the caption “They are both in this picture — Find them.” This world-famous image has entertained people for over a century. Can you find both of these women in this illusion? Which woman did you see first? Wikipedia tells us that a 2018 Australian study conducted by two psychology professors concluded that it has to do with your age. According to the study, a younger person will see the younger woman first, while older people will see the older woman first. The point of the study was to determine if “own-age biases affect the initial interpretation of an image at a subconscious level.” This sort of takes the fun out of the illusion, doesn’t it? But haven’t you wondered before why you have seen one image before the other?
The question that the Australian study sought to answer is part of the universal questions of the human experience: Why do I make the choices I make? What drives me? What is life all about for me? There are underlying biases we carry into our experiences, informing how we will perceive them. How we regard our life events depends upon the image we first look at: the image the world offers or the image God offers. Let’s pause here and think about our reactions to the highs and lows of life. What does your reaction tell you about your view of God’s priority for you? Do you find yourself defaulting to questioning God’s purposes or nearness in your circumstance? Ask God to reveal where you’ve been looking at the “illusion image” of your situation, and to instead show you His “reality image”.
What is life about? Our Lord Jesus Christ knew this question was on the minds of his newly-appointed apostles and other disciples as well as the gathering crowd. He had been working awesome miracles among them, and they were hungry for the truth of what He was all about. Yet, Jesus set out to tell them the truth of what they were to be about. He addressed his disciples, in the hearing of all who gathered, and began to turn their world upside down. He told them that what the world deems worthy of their efforts and claims as true about their circumstances is, in God’s view, upside down. An illusion. Jesus began correcting their vision by telling them that those who would follow Him have different priorities in life (The Beatitudes, verses 20-23) – humble contentment and Kingdom hope.
Now, in verses 24-26, Jesus offered a negative counterpart of the “Blessed” truths by warning (“woe-ing”) against pride and complacency, and the failure of reversed priorities. I hope I’m not stepping on toes here, but I think that today these might look like: cult of personality; #YOLO; gluttony in all forms; dependence on social media for approval and self-worth; to name a few.
The Message puts this passage in contemporary language that might help us here:
But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you’ll ever get.
And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long.
And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games. There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.
There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests – look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors. Your task is to be true, not popular.
By exposing the illusions of the world, Jesus was helping His disciples to see past them, directing their primary focus to the Kingdom of God’s values. He was training them to set this as their default focus-reorienting their biases.
In His sermon on the mount, Jesus exhorted them to not be anxious about what the world says comes first – eating, drinking, clothing and the like. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). C.S. Lewis’ “First Things First” principle puts it this way: “Put first things first and we get second things thrown in: put second things first and we lose both first and second things. We never get, say, even the sensual pleasure of food at its best when we are being greedy.” How about you? Are there any areas in your life where you are putting second things first?
One commentary says of this passage that Jesus was not contrasting between two sets of circumstances, but between ways people react to life in this world. The contrast is between Jesus’ people and other people. Jesus’ people are dissatisfied with what this world has to offer but are happy anyway. Other people are satisfied with what this world has to offer but are miserable. Where might your desires be diverted by one or more of the illusions in Jesus’ “Woes”? Jesus says you would be better off poor, hungry, weeping or hated. For then at least you might turn from these empty things to Him, and find out what life is really about.
The hymn “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus” is so helpful here as a meditation. Considering this passage in Luke, verse one might have us asking our souls why our vision has been obscured. But the light of Christ offers the better image for our view. He is Way and the Truth and the Life. We can see our goals changing before our very eyes when we turn from illusion and instead fix our eyes upon Him.
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we are tempted to believe the illusion that personal gain is going to satisfy us. We strive to achieve, to be comforted, to please, when we ought to aim for the pleasure of Almighty God and our satisfaction in the company of the Holy Spirit. Reorient our gaze to see how we’re clinging to things of earth which must grow strangely dim to us in the light of your glory and grace. Amen.
Reflection Questions
- Let’s think about our reactions to the highs and lows of life. What does your reaction tell you about your view of God’s priority for you? Do you find yourself defaulting to questioning God in your circumstance? Ask God to reveal where you’ve been looking at the “illusion image” of your situation, and to instead show you His “reality image”.
- C.S. Lewis’ “First Things First” principle puts it this way: “Put first things first and we get second things thrown in: put second things first and we lose both first and second things. We never get, say, even the sensual pleasure of food at its best when we are being greedy.” How about you? Are there any areas in your life where you are putting second things first? Where would God be pleased to be the priority over the “second thing” – even a good thing?
- Where might your desires be diverted by one or more of the illusions in Jesus’ “Woes”? Jesus says you would be better off poor, hungry, weeping or hated. For then at least you might turn from these empty things to Him, and find out what life is really about.
Hymn: “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus” performed by David Baroni