I Believe For This Reason
Photo by Oksana Manych on Unsplash
Believing In Healing Help You See Healing
by Eric Elkin
“Awestruck, everyone praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”
Harry Markopolos became famous for his lack of belief. As the chief investment officer for Rampart Investment Management, he investigated an investment strategy called "split-strike conversion." The architect of the process, Bernie Madoff, was producing incredibly consistent returns on investments.
It didn't take long for Markopolos to not believe in the miracle system. For him, any 10th grader who grasped basic math could have uncovered the truth. The numbers did not add up no matter how you looked at the investment returns.
The funny thing was Harry Markopolos could not convince anyone in power the system did not work. Time and time again, he sent reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with no response. The SEC's sole purpose is to enforce laws against market manipulation. Yet, he could not get anyone to join his unbelief in Bernie Madoff.
Competing disbelief made discovering the truth hard. One side could not believe anyone could produce such incredible returns, and the other could not accept a credible person like Bernie Madoff could manipulate their system. The lack of agreement allowed Madoff to steal $64.8 Billion from a wide variety of people. Even more incredible, Bernie Madoff never got caught; he turned himself in.
“To assume the best about another is the trait that has created modern society. Those occasions when our trusting nature gets violated are tragic. But the alternative - to abandon trust as a defense against predation and deception - is worse.”
Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Talking To Strangers, used this story to talk about human nature. Almost all human beings have been programmed to default to the truth. This does not mean we can tell the truth from a lie. Default to the truth means we assume the person we are talking to is telling us the truth, even when they are not.
Defaulting to the truth can leave us vulnerable to being scammed. However, Gladwell argues that the alternative is worse. Markopolos also modeled the effect of living in non-belief. When no one believed his reports, Markopolos became paranoid. In the days before Madoff turned himself in, Harry refused to leave his house. He sat in a chair with a shotgun by his side convinced someone was coming to kill him.
This morning, I read a story about Jesus bringing a young man back to life. The implication of sharing this story with others is to convince me to believe that "God has come to help his people." Yet, as I access the truth of this statement, another story is in my head.
This past week, Gallup revealed the results of a "Values and Belief Poll." The study showed fewer Americans believe there is a God or a higher power than in any earlier study. The news has caused despair among many church-going people. Not for me; I will default to the truth. I will believe God comes to help people, even if I don't understand it or can prove it.
I believe for this reason. My belief in a spiritual healer helps me to see healing and compassion in the world. Often, the beauty of healing is so overflowing, I can barely contain my joy. Those in my life who close themselves off from this belief tend only to see scams and manipulation. Given a choice between joy and fraud protection, I will take joy, even if it leaves me vulnerable.
Click to read Luke 7: 11-17
Reflection Questions:
When have you been burned by believing something that was not true?
When has trust paid off for you?
How can we train ourselves to see good?
How can you practice belief?
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