What Do I Do about the Sins I Don’t Even Know?
Social-scientific research has revealed biases that lurk in our implicit attitudes, but the authors of Scripture knew this propensity long before the social sciences—and they knew it far better
An early look at a forthcoming article that I wrote for The Gospel Coalition:
“I know. I know you probably think that.”
It’s one of the most poignant lines in the 2016 film Hidden Figures.
Dorothy Vaughan is an African-American mathematician providing calculations for the space program in the 1960s. Her white supervisor is condescending and contemptuous toward the African-American workers. She seems especially put off by Dorothy’s desire to receive the advancements that she’s earned.
Then, by chance, Dorothy and the supervisor end up encountering one another in a restroom.
That’s when the supervisor feels compelled to say to Dorothy, “Despite what you may think, I have nothing against y’all.”
The very tone of the the supervisor’s declaration reveals a disdain that she herself doesn’t seem to know.
Dorothy pauses for a moment before she replies.
“I know,” she says. “I know you probably think that.”
It’s one of the most powerful scenes in the film because it highlights how skilled we are at deceiving ourselves.
Prejudice, lack of forgiveness, pride, love of praise—all these sins and so many more slither unseen beneath the surface of our souls. Social-scientific research has repeatedly revealed biases that lurk in our implicit attitudes, but the authors of Scripture knew our propensity for self-deception long before the social sciences—and they knew it far better.
It’s what drove David to cry out in desperation, “Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults” (Psalm 19:12).
It’s what God was getting at when he reminded Jeremiah the prophet, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
Even though we may not be aware of sins that range from pride to partiality and everything in between, they’re still there, shaping who we are.
So what do we do about these proclivities to which we are blind?
“Our Sins … Keep Our Mind from Seeing Itself”
Here—as in many other places—the thinking of a North African pastor named Augustine of Hippo is helpful.
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