Filters

We all use filters. Filters do wonderful things. I am always grateful that my last gulp of coffee in the morning is free from the nasty crumbs of coffee grounds, thanks to a simple paper filter. I am grateful for the filters that keep my car running, that keep lint out of my clothes and keep the air from our heating systems cleaner. 

All filters have two basic functions - to let the stuff we want pass through and to stop the stuff that we don’t want. Photographers use filters as well. Often their filters help the camera see things the same way our eyes see them. In that way the filter actually enhances reality, allowing us to see things the way they truly are rather than blindingly bright or tainted by certain colors. But photographic filters can also distort reality, to present it in a way that they artist wants it portrayed. The filters still function in the same two ways - allowing what the photographer wants to come through, but keeping out the light that is undesired - but that doesn’t always mean they make the final product more realistic, sometimes they are purposely unrealistic. Filters are used to create desired effects, not always to enhance reality.

We all have filters that we use everyday to interpret the world around us. We have filters that we use to form opinions, to make decisions, to manage money and to vote. Most often we are not even consciously aware of filters, but they are there, nonetheless, shaping the way we translate the life around us. Like photographic filters, our filters do not always help us to see reality better. Often our filters merely help us see the world the way we want to see the world. That is not always bad, but it is not always good either.

Our filters also affect the way we read scripture. Shane Claiborne, who I admire, but don’t always agree with, uses a community filter. When he reads and comments on scripture, the idea of community is frequently interjected, even in places where I can’t see it. It is not a bad filter, in fact the way he lives out his beliefs is quite a challenge to me, but it may not always reflect the most accurate representation of scripture. For Claiborne, his filter gives context and practical meaning to the things he reads, and that is  good. We often do the same thing to find practical applications in scripture that we read. We would be hard pressed to find scripture that deals directly with our TV and movie viewing habits, but if that is something we struggle with, that might be a filter we use to find meaning in biblical passages that otherwise might not have much to say to us.

But sometimes the filters we use to read the Bible may not be so good. There are times when our filters strain out those things that we may not want to deal with, but are ultimately in our best interest. Some Christians have a conservative, democratic, capitalistic, Republican, American patriotism, kind of filter (and yes, some have the opposite filter, but not many of them are reading my blog), that distorts the reality of scripture when it is read. The filter can cause Christians to ignore entire passages or give them only surface treatment, lest the filter be penetrated or torn. But there are times when we need to remove the filter and allow God’s Word to fully impact us, to leave a bad taste in our mouths like the coffee grounds at the bottom of a cup. Not everything in the Bible is savory, in fact there are things that are rather unpleasant, but filtering them out does not negate the fact that they are there and they are intended for us to embrace.

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” may have application for my relationship with my neighbor that I don’t care much for, but limiting the application to someone who, realistically, is not really my enemy, might mean I am imposing a filter on the passage for the sake of not dealing with the gritty, bitterness at the bottom of the cup. Do we suppose that Jesus is really talking about innocuous, pseudo-enemies like our neighbors, or the dirty joke teller at work? Could he be talking about real enemies, the kind that would like to kill us - the kind that would fly planes into skyscrapers and carry bombs into crowded market places? Could he be talking about murderers, rapists and gang members? Could it be that we are called to love and pray for even them? 

This is where scripture starts to leave a bad taste in my mouth. If I cling to my traditional conservative values, this passage of scripture threatens my view of politically charged topics like war and capital punishment. It causes us to ask dangerous questions about what we support and what we do not, what is right and what is wrong. If I use my conservative, Republican, American patriot filter to read this passage, there isn’t much to read and it all tastes good as I drink it down. Removing the filter makes things a little messier, uncomfortable, threatening and downright un-American, but it also allows us to drink in the full impact of Jesus’ words. Filtering out medicine so we only got the parts that taste good would probably be a bad idea. It might taste better, but by eliminating the bitterness, we also eliminate what will make us better. 

We have to be careful with filters and use them carefully, not to suit our own sense of reality, but enhance the reality that God is revealing to us. Removing filters can be painful and can leave a nasty taste in our mouths, but that might be the very thing we need. Growing in our faith can be unpleasant and difficult, but we shouldn’t use filters to avoid the difficulties.