Perceptions are everything.
Canadian novelist, Robertson Davies, was spot on when he observed: “The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” And so we can so easily live our lives on what we perceive to be the truth rather than reality itself.
So a remarkable story appeared yesterday which the media hardly picked up. I’ve checked Daily Mail online – and it’s nowhere to be seen. And I’ve just scrolled through this morning’s Times – and it’s not there either. To be fair, the BBC picked it up for a short while earlier this morning, but it’s not there now.
I’m talking about the report on crime published yesterday by the Office of National Statistics, considered the most accurate measure of criminal activity in the UK, far more precise than crimes recorded by the police.
But before we go any further, what would be your perception of the level of crime in our society – and more to the point, whether it is getting better or worse? What is the probability of you being a victim of crime, either acquisitive or violent?
And the answer is:
We have never been safer. According to the ONS crime has fallen to its lowest level on record. You may find it hard to believe but incidents of violent crime alone have dropped by 28% in the year to June 2023.
Apparently the peak of criminal activity was in the mid 1990’s – and it has fallen (I guess you won’t believe this) by 80%! Four fifths.
Even since the Pandemic violent crime has fallen by 28%, theft by 20% and anti-social behaviour by 15%.
It seems that shop-lifting does not have its own category and so if there has been a recent surge, it may not be picked up in the statistics, at least not yet. But there again, that may be an issue of perception rather than actual facts. This may be a function of the nature of news reporting than of reality.
This is good news but an inconvenient truth for our profit-orientated media. Can you imagine this morning’s Daily Express leading with WE HAVE NEVER BEEN SAFER?
As I recall it was the same for a previous report from the ONS. Earlier this year its report showed that the UK had the lowest economic growth in the G7. You may remember the headlines. Then during the summer the Office revised its statistics upwards, publishing its report incidentally somewhat naively on a Friday afternoon, to show the UK economy was actually midrange in the G7 league table. This was hardly reported, relegated to the bottom of page 6
It seems for some strange reason we prefer to read bad news, or more precisely we only take interest when news confirms our perceptions. Good news rarely sells copy because it is invariably boring, such as “No crime in Ormskirk centre last night.”
But that is how we live our lives. What counts is our perceptions, which may or may not have any relationship with reality. And more, our perceptions are highly resistant to truth. You may even be thinking now that the ONS report is wrong: “That can’t be right!”
I’ve often wondered how we would view Jesus of Nazareth, should we climb into our time machines to stand amongst the crowds alongside Galilee. My guess is that we would be totally surprised – and almost certainly disappointed. “You’re not telling me that this is the man who single-handedly changed the entire course of world history!”
My only reason for saying that is the prophecy of Isaiah. “There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look.” (Isaiah 53:2 The Message). Or as the AV (KJV) translates the following verse, “we esteemed him not.”
But that is how God works, defying our perceptions. This was certainly the case for the apostle Paul, acclaimed by Tom Wright as one of the controversial and powerful figures in history. “His writings have had an incalculable influence on Western culture and beyond, and his words continue to guide the lives of over two billion Christians across the world today.”
If you were to reset your time machine to Corinth some 25 years later, again you would be surprised and dismayed to see what Paul looked like. As the apostle himself tells us he was belittled by his opponents: ‘”His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.” (2 Corinthians 10:10). Or as the Message has it: “In person he’s a weakling and mumbles when he talks.”
When we become disciples of Jesus, one of the more urgent tasks for the Holy Spirit is to change our perceptions. He teaches us to encounter life in a new way, refusing to be taken in by superficial appearances and judgements. We are to see each other through new eyes; we are to evaluate our experiences in a new way.
What is more, we refuse to be taken in by the world’s lies and threats Or to quote highly quotable Mark Twain: “If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed.”
Of course, a key here has to be disciplined and regular Bible reading, as we resolve to be guided no longer by what the apostle Paul calls “the course of the world” but by the Holy Spirit.
That’s why he so often refers to the renewing of our minds as we allow God to challenge our perceptions and to see life through new eyes. For as Jesus himself tells us, "it is the truth which sets us free." (John 8:32)