{"id":41472,"date":"2025-04-03T20:44:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T03:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=41472"},"modified":"2025-04-03T20:44:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T03:44:22","slug":"loving-beyond-bias-how-self-awareness-awakens-the-jesus-creed-in-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/loving-beyond-bias-how-self-awareness-awakens-the-jesus-creed-in-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Loving Beyond Bias: How Self-Awareness Awakens the Jesus Creed in Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been trying to understand it all.<\/span><\/p>\n

How can people who profess to follow Jesus have such completely different perspectives on the answers to the questions, \u201cWho is my neighbor?\u201d and \u201cAm I my brother\u2019s keeper?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And if those of us who follow Jesus say we want to become more like Him in all our interactions, how can we have such dramatically different opinions on how we care\u2014or don\u2019t care\u2014for others?<\/span><\/p>\n

Before we go any further, let me \u2018fess up to the fact that I know I fall far short of being like Jesus in many, many ways. (\u201cOh sinful heart, let me count the ways in which you miss the mark\u2026\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

I also acknowledge that there are many aspects of faith that fall into a kind of \u201cgray zone\u201d\u2014those areas where denominations disagree or theologians debate. And in such cases, it\u2019s wise not to \u201cmajor in the minors,\u201d as the saying goes. Let\u2019s keep first things first.<\/span><\/p>\n

So for that matter, what <\/span>is<\/span><\/i> first? What\u2019s the center of the center?<\/span><\/p>\n

We look to Jesus\u2019s words that have come to be known as the greatest commandment\u2014what Scot McKnight names \u201cthe Jesus Creed.\u201d In <\/span>The Jesus Creed<\/span><\/i>, McKnight explains how Jesus took the <\/span>Shema<\/span><\/i> from Deuteronomy 6 and transformed it:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes real pluck (or chutzpah) to add to the sacred shema, but this addition reveals the heart of the Jesus creed\u2026 Making the love of others part of his own version of the <\/span>shema<\/span><\/i> shows that he sees love of others as central to spiritual formation\u2026 When the <\/span>shema<\/span><\/i> becomes the Jesus creed, it becomes personal.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0[1]<\/span><\/p>\n

This idea becomes even more powerful when paired with the words of 1 John 4:19: <\/span>\u201cWe love because God first loved us.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

This is where Jesus-centered love begins\u2014not as an obligation, not as a religious task, but as a response. As Albert Nolan puts it in <\/span>Jesus Today<\/span><\/i>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor Jesus\u2026 God\u2019s love comes first.\u201d [2]<\/span><\/p>\n

The idea that we must earn love\u2014God\u2019s or anyone else\u2019s\u2014is, in itself, an example of unconscious bias. It’s deeply embedded in how we approach our relationships, our theology, and even our leadership. It\u2019s very difficult for most people to understand that we are loved simply because of who we are, simply because God created us and therefore God loves us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And yet, even with that understanding in our heads (and hopefully in our hearts), we often don\u2019t act like people overflowing with divine love. We believe\u2014unconsciously\u2014that we have to <\/span>earn<\/span><\/i> God\u2019s love.<\/span><\/p>\n

That often means that we don\u2019t live like people who truly believe everyone is our neighbor.<\/span><\/p>\n

We don\u2019t move through our neighborhoods, workplaces, or churches like people who believe we are part of one big family\u2014what Nolan calls \u201ca happy, loving household\u2026 rising up from below, from the poor, the little ones, the sinners, the outcasts.\u201d [3]<\/span><\/p>\n

So what gives?<\/span><\/p>\n

The Gap Between What We Believe and How We Love<\/b><\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s where science can help.<\/span><\/p>\n

In her book <\/span>Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias<\/span><\/i>, behavioral and data scientist Pragya Agarwal explores the subtle, hidden forces that shape our perception of the world and other people. She explains:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all discriminate. We judge, we exclude people, we stereotype. Sometimes that’s a little tough to comprehend.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0[4]<\/span><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t about \u201cbad people.\u201d It\u2019s about <\/span>human<\/span><\/i> people. It\u2019s about how our brains are wired to use heuristics\u2014mental shortcuts\u2014especially when we\u2019re tired, rushed, or overwhelmed. Our minds build \u201cmental schemas,\u201d filtering out data that contradicts what we already believe and prioritizing what seems familiar or safe. [5] Such unconscious bias results in blind spots in our relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even when we believe the right things\u2014that all are created in God\u2019s image, that everyone is worthy of love\u2014we still fall prey to \u201csatisficing,\u201d or settling for good-enough judgments based on incomplete impressions. [6] And these fast, automatic instincts tend to reinforce the very hierarchies that Jesus came to dismantle.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, if we\u2019re going to live out the Jesus Creed\u2014not just recite it\u2014we have to <\/span>know ourselves<\/span><\/i>. We have to slow down, pay attention, and let the Holy Spirit reveal our blind spots.<\/span><\/p>\n

We cannot love our neighbors well if we are not <\/span>aware<\/span><\/i> of how we fail to see them clearly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Transforming the <\/b>Shema<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n

Jesus didn\u2019t command us to love our neighbor as an act of moral muscle. He invited us into something deeper\u2014a relational response to a love that had already come near. As Albert Nolan writes in <\/span>Jesus Today<\/span><\/i>, \u201cIn Jesus\u2019s understanding, loving God was a grateful and joyful response to God’s unconditional love. It was a spontaneous response to the experience of God as a loving, caring Father.\u201d\u00a0 [7]<\/span><\/p>\n

That kind of love\u2014the kind that flows <\/span>because<\/span><\/i> we\u2019ve been loved\u2014is beautiful in theory. But it runs straight into our wiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Jesus didn\u2019t just repeat the <\/span>Shema<\/span><\/i>, He transformed it. As Scot McKnight explains, \u201c[Making] the love of others part of his own version of the <\/span>Shema<\/span><\/i> shows that he sees love of others as central to spiritual formation.\u201d<\/span> [8] He made neighbor-love the <\/span>visible evidence<\/span><\/i> of spiritual maturity.<\/span><\/p>\n

But to live that kind of love, we have to get real about what keeps us from seeing our neighbors clearly in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s where self-awareness enters in\u2014not as a buzzword, but as a spiritual discipline. In <\/span>Sway<\/span><\/i>, Pragya Agarwal explains how unconscious biases distort our perception: \u201cWe form a partial snapshot of the entire world depending on our context and goals,\u201d she writes, which \u201cleads to unconscious errors in memory recall\u2026 and biases that affect our gut instinct.\u201d [9]<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, we extrapolate from past experiences to future situations that are similar, filtering people \u201cin\u201d or \u201cout\u201d based on how much like us they are. Although the words and actions of other people have helped shape us\u2014and our unconscious biases\u2014throughout our lives, we don\u2019t even realize we\u2019re using those filters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Walking Past Jesus?<\/b><\/h2>\n

This is why self-awareness is more than a personality tool\u2014<\/span>it\u2019s an act of discipleship.<\/span><\/i> If we\u2019re not actively examining the people, stories, and instincts that shape us, we will inevitably love unequally.<\/b> We’ll \u201cpass by on the other side\u201d of people we don\u2019t fully understand or feel threatened by, all while convincing ourselves we\u2019re being faithful.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus tells us otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Matthew 25, He describes the final judgment\u2014not based on belief, but on mercy. Not on correct doctrine, but on how we treated the hungry, the stranger, the sick, the imprisoned. As Nolan puts it, \u201cLove of neighbor is seen to be in practice the same as love of God\u2014whether the person being judged is aware of this or not.\u201d [10]<\/span><\/p>\n

Let that sink in. Loving the people we find inconvenient, annoying, or hard to understand <\/span>is loving God<\/span><\/i>. And if we aren\u2019t aware of the ways our brains automatically shield us from certain types of people, we may never realize how often we walk right past Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n

From Awareness to Love in Action<\/b><\/h2>\n

So if we know that Jesus offers the invitation to love\u2014not as a burden, but as a response\u2014and we know that unconscious bias shapes who we notice, trust, or help, what do we do next?<\/span><\/p>\n

We pay attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Self-awareness is not a self-help technique. It\u2019s not a psychological luxury. For those who follow Jesus\u2014especially those called to lead in His name\u2014<\/span>self-awareness is sacred.<\/b> It\u2019s the beginning of repentance. It\u2019s how we notice the neighbor we\u2019ve overlooked. It\u2019s how we tell the truth about what\u2019s happening inside us, so we can live more truthfully toward others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because when we dare to examine the stories and assumptions that run under the surface of our thinking\u2014when we ask the Spirit to reveal our blind spots and biases\u2014we become more like Jesus. And we begin to turn the world right side up.<\/span><\/p>\n

Albert Nolan writes, \u201cThe community or society Jesus hoped for was more like a family\u2026 who care for one another, identify with one another, protect one another, and share with one another.\u201d [11]<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the real world Jesus saw, and sees still\u2014a world where love is not filtered through fear or favoritism. A world where <\/span>neighbor<\/span><\/i> means everyone, and \u201cthe least of these\u201d is never <\/span>least<\/span><\/i> to God.<\/span><\/p>\n

So understanding more about unconscious bias is at least one piece of the puzzle that begins to answer the question I posed above: <\/span>How can followers of Jesus have such different perspectives on the Jesus Creed?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And self-awareness is a critical first step in the spiritual formation\u2014the journey toward greater spiritual maturity\u2014that McKnight suggests is the desired result of truly living into the Jesus Creed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you ready to practice some \u201cself-awareness\u201d for your own spiritual growth? Try asking yourself these questions:<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Who have I filtered out of my vision of \u201cneighbor\u201d\u2014and what might it look like to start seeing them with the eyes of Jesus?<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What if being \u201cmy brother\u2019s keeper\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily mean taking responsibility for someone else\u2019s life\u2014but simply taking responsibility for how I see them?<\/span>
    \n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    That kind of love\u2014humble, aware, and unfiltered\u2014is the beginning of the Jesus Creed lived out loud.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \n

    1 – Scot McKnight, <\/span>The Jesus Creed; Loving God, Loving Others<\/span><\/i> (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2004), 9.<\/span><\/p>\n

    2 – Albert Nolan, <\/span>Jesus Today; A Spirituality of Radical Freedom<\/span><\/i> (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2006), 157.<\/span><\/p>\n

    3 – Nolan, 57.<\/span><\/p>\n

    4 – Pragya Agarwal, <\/span>Sway; Unavelling Unconscious Bias<\/span><\/i> (New York: Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020), 22.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    5 – Agarwal, 30-31.<\/span><\/p>\n

    6 – Agarwal, 31.<\/span><\/p>\n

    7 – Nolan, 157.<\/span><\/p>\n

    8 – McKnight, 9.<\/span><\/p>\n

    9 – Agarwal, 34.<\/span><\/p>\n

    10 – Nolan, 160.<\/span><\/p>\n

    11 – Nolan, 57.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I\u2019ve been trying to understand it all. How can people who profess to follow Jesus have such completely different perspectives on the answers to the questions, \u201cWho is my neighbor?\u201d and \u201cAm I my brother\u2019s keeper?\u201d And if those of us who follow Jesus say we want to become more like Him in all our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2244,2967],"class_list":["post-41472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-agarwal","tag-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41472"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41475,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41472\/revisions\/41475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}