Finding What Is Real

My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours. I John 5:13-15 (the Message)

This week, I came across a profound question in my reading: “Have you ever wondered why oranges are often sold in those strange red net bags?” Well maybe a bit less than profound, and if you are like me, really hadn’t given any thought to it. According to the writer the reason why “it’s a sneaky trick used by food producers and supermarkets to fool your senses and (Hopefully) make you buy more fruit.”

The red mesh creates an illusion that the oranges are more colorful and thus tastier than they will be at home. The colorful net downplays the unripeness of the fruit. The same principle applies to lemons which are put in yellow bags to enhance their natural color. “The principle is based on the confetti illusion, a visual phenomenon where the perception of colors is strongly influenced by its surrounding context.”  (Tom Hale)

Hale further quoted Psychologist Karl R. Gegenfurtner who released a study in i-Perception, “We conclude that color assimilation alone provides a strong effect on color appearance, turning the greenish looking orange into a beautifully orange one…Looking around in typical supermarkets, it is easy to see that fruits and vegetables are typically packaged in nets that are of the color of perfect exemplars…The paper explains that the confetti illusion is based on the principle that our brains are programmed to process peripheral vision and color perception.”

I have always been fascinated by illusionist’s or magicians’ shows, watching closely to see if I could figure out how they did what they did. The acts of David Copperfield, Penn and Teller, or Siegfried and Roy can’t help but leave you mesmerized. The greats, such as Harry Houdini and Howard Thurston, changed the entertainment scene with their shows. Illusionists are masters of diverting your attention from reality, thinking what is, isn’t really. Smoke-and-mirrors tricks, sleight-of-hand card tricks, flashing lights, and bursts of fire all draw your attention away from what is real.

Unfortunately, the illusionists of life are not always limited to a 30-minute routine on stage. We are exposed to master illusionists in life similar to the red nets that oranges are bagged in to create a false reality.  The same things happen daily in our world.

I watched bits of both political conventions over this last month and occasionally I felt both parties had illusionists on the stage. You realize what you see is not always reality, but a perception of reality. Often it comes down to what we want to see.

“Illusions are false perceptions, and delusions are when we believe those perceptions. A delusion is when we are under the spell of an illusion, under the spell of a lie that is perceived as truth.” (Joe & Erin Pinto)

Politicians can be master illusionists, telling us what we want to hear or what we think we want to hear. Advertisers have been masters illusionists for years telling us if we do this exercise or routine, we can have an amazing body; if we eat this food, we can get rid of unwanted fat or improve this health problem; or if we…. you name it. The illusion of beauty, success, or power fills our social media accounts daily.

So, what is real? What is only an illusion? Satan uses the same set of tricks that a great illusionist would use, to divert our attention from what is real, what is truth, and what is God-centered. We read in Matthew 4 of his attempts to divert Jesus with his sleight of hand, creating an illusion that would lead to death. The same tactics that Satan tried to use against Jesus, he uses today against us, tempting us in the areas of physical needs, spiritual shortcuts, and success or power.  The great thing though is that Jesus opened Satan’s playbook and showed us how to understand the deception and what to do.  Verse after verse in Matthew says, “The Scriptures say, For the Scriptures say, The Scriptures also say, For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him’”.

“Sometimes, things in this life aren’t what they look like. For us to see past the illusion, we have to get our eyes on Jesus and off the false evidence. The enemy wants to get us to focus on the problems, the current circumstances—on the giant, on the waves, on the army.” (Will Cooper, COO of Samaritan Ministries)

When David Copperfield, Penn and Teller, or Harry Houdini finished their shows, they put away their props and went about living real life. The illusions they created were put into a crate or folded up for the next show. As we face troubles, anxiousness, or doubts, we can let them become overwhelming in our lives or follow Paul’s advice about the temporary illusion we are facing. Scripture says, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT

When the final curtain is drawn and we no longer watch the fleeting illusion of life, only then will we get to experience and see the real story! “Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways.” Psalm 119:37 NRSV

God is great!