The Samuel Bias

We want to believe what we want to believe, whether it’s about movies, herbal remedies, stocks and bonds — or people.

Samuel has a problem in our text: He doesn’t see things as God sees things.

This can be a good thing. It might be difficult to live with someone who’s too perceptive, too honest, too willing to look past the external. Being human — superficial and shallow — can make life easier. We’re used to dealing with shallow and superficial people.

So Samuel has this bias, like a lot of us. His first reaction is a reaction to outward appearances. In fact, pastor Jeff Gantz, after seeing an advance copy of this material, suggested we call this piece, “God’s Glasses.” Samuel has a problem with his sight. He needs some new glasses, some “God glasses.”

This “sight” problem — we’re calling it a “bias” — can get us into trouble. Too often, unfortunate things happen when we follow conventional wisdom. You won’t want to use all of these examples, but here are a few you might find interesting:...