I find myself learning more and more about denial I find in me. How do you describe denial? It is missing the obvious. Many around you may notice something that you don’t yourself see as a problem. It is like you push the problem to the back burner and not face what you are struggling with. Denial may be more subtle and unconscious than consciously known. Facing an issue will demand serious changes. You are not ready for it. So you brush it aside. It is a threat to yourself and you compromise dealing with it. It makes you feel numb towards the problem and keeps business as usual.
This happened to the Sanhedrin that condemned and crucified Jesus. When they heard that the apostles were proclaiming in the streets of Jerusalem how God raised Jesus from the dead after he was condemned to death unjustly they arrested them. They said by their preaching the apostles were holding the religious leaders responsible for the blood of Jesus. In their heart they believed they were not in anyway responsible. They did the right thing. They claimed innocence. What may have contributed to their denial? Arrogance, a sense of superiority, unwillingness to admit and feel guilty for crimes, hardheartedness, being blind to their mistakes, tendency to be condemnational and judgmental–all these may have been the ingredients. These characteristics will make believers unbelieving. If these were the potential causes then being a Pharisee is not related to a job but to a state of being in the world. Am I or am I not a pharisee?
