We cannot change ultimate reality, but how we see and interpret life matters because we will find what we’re looking for. The ethics of observation calls for us to be mindful of the limits of our interpretations, while also choosing to look for the good rather than defaulting to assumptions of dissension, hatred, and strife.
To be sure, evil and bad intentions abound, and sometimes from those closest to us. We must be on guard and give no quarter to such darkness. But we’re unwittingly participating with darkness when suspicion and doubt is our starting assumption with others.
A tree is known by the fruit it produces. And so we must consider the nature of our observations. Are our interpretations opening the door for love, peace, and even repentance? Or are we seeing in such a way that already condemns the other? Does our so-called evidence actually convict the other, or does it say more about our own heart attitudes?
Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure, but nothing is pure to those whose minds and hearts are corrupted. Certainly, the pure in heart do not deny the presence of sin. But they learn to see with eyes of grace and mercy rather than condemnation and shame. And when everything is suspect – leading to increasing hostility and division – our vision is likely distorted.
We’re not trying to change reality, but we might need to address our own wounds, brokenness, and lack of forgiveness, as our hard hearts are keeping us from seeing rightly. And this is the ethics of observation – stewarding how we see by humbly acknowledging our limitations and regularly considering how our own heart attitudes might be distorting what we see and name in others.
In the end, be bold in naming things for what they are. But consider also how your biases influence what you see. Include humility and grace in your ethics of observation.
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