Why is Gore Disturbing?

Dunno. My brain drained about a year ago. Before I begin, though, let me warn you to take what I say with a grain of salt -- I don't have anything figured out.

I've seen a lot of gore -- real and very disturbing gore. (Thanks, safety training!) Consequently, it doesn't bother me anymore. How come?

If you see someone get a fingernail ripped out it's very disturbing, and the first reaction is imagining what it would feel like to have your own fingernail ripped out. For the next few minutes, you'll probably stand their gripping a finger in your fist in an effort to avoid the same calamity. After that, a lot of people tend to feel very badly for that person. Not me. I say, "HAHA! Too bad for you!" (Ok, not really :-)

As another example, think of a disfigured person. Your first natural reaction is to recoil -- all because they don't look like you do. Your reaction is solely based on the fact that they don't look like you; as with the fingernail, you're using yourself as the point of reference.

So, why don't gory pictures disturb me anymore? I think it's because, with practice, I can look at an injury in a somewhat non-self-referential way -- as long as I can keep from associating gore or dismemberment with my own self, it doesn't bother me. This is something people who work in the medical field have to overcome very quickly.

A good illustration is a car accident involving a serious injury. Most people either leave or stand around the victim in shock, not knowing what to do. Others get weak and faint. Those who are able to keep themselves from comparing the blood and gore with their own bodies are the ones who save lives; those who don't use themselves as the point of reference while observing the victim are the ones who have the presence of mind to make a difference.

Now for a little analogy...

Throughout our daily lives, we judge. "Oh, this is good." "This is bad." "I'm cold and that isn't good." "I'll order from this company because I liked their website."

And when it comes to people, we cannot help but judge -- this happens all the time. When you first meet someone, you immediately form an opinion about them. Using your own mind and self as the point of reference, our opinions tend to be formed by how they compare to us. Do they conform to our self-imposed moral standards? Do they dress how we dress? Do they listen to the same music we do? Do they home school? Do they go to movie theaters? Do they have sound doctrine? or, God forbid, do they drink? Too often we use these self-referential judgements to form our opinion of our fellow brothers in Christ.

Isn't this part what Christ warned about in the Sermon on the Mount? Is it so much that He's calling us to avoid the sin of judgementalism, or is the point natural-mindedness, using our own flawed judgement?

I'll steal something from Pastor Culver's notes on the subject and can be downloaded here:
"And yet, multitudes miss the crucial connection between human estrangement and the
practice of judging – a very likely outcome if this passage isn’t interpreted within the overall context. Jesus was addressing earthly-mindedness as the foundational barrier to the kingdom of heaven, and all human judgment reflects and proceeds out of this human condition. It isn’t judging as such that Jesus confronted, but neither is it merely a faultfinding, judgmental spirit. Perhaps most Christians confine Jesus’ concern in this passage to the sin of judgmentalism, and this was certainly His point of departure. But when this passage is viewed through the lens of the wider context, one discovers that Jesus was speaking ultimately to the entire psychology and operation of human judgment, positive as much as negative. He was here treating the problem of judging in the broadest sense – that is, as a natural, spontaneous, and even unconscious function of the fallen, earthly mind, rather than only in the narrow sense of a judgmental spirit. The Lord’s overarching concern was the human condition that destroys people’s capacity to judge rightly, only one expression of which is judgmentalism. ... Again, the problem isn’t human beings making judgments; this is an essential and glorious feature of bearing the divine image and likeness. Man cannot fulfill hiscreated identity without judging, the greatest proof of this being the example ofJesus Christ, the consummate Man. In every circumstance and with regard to every person, Jesus made judgments. But His judgments were distinguished bythe fact that they proceeded out of a mind in perfect harmony with His Father’s; Jesus judged all things, but always and only with “righteous judgment.”

(I was going to go into much more detail and talk for a while, but I doubt anyone will make it to here, so I'll keep it short and throw out a bunch of disconnected sentences. :-)

It is our obligation to live by the law of love. Judging our fellow Christians in natural-mindedness, and in one aspect, using ourselves as the point of reference, divides the body of Christ whereas judging with the mind of Christ builds the body.

Judging our righteousness or "right-ness with God" on our own works is the broad way -- to steal a phrase yet again, the biggest stumbling block to Christians is often their own righteousness. This is the way that leads to destruction. Judging with ourselves as the point of reference -- what a great way to keep our focus on our own works and live estranged from God and ourselves! What a great way to focus on our works -- what we do to be "right with God" and get what we want, whether it be fulfillment through estrangement, temporal wealth, happiness, or an easy life. Satan loves highly moral and religious people who live with the natural mind as he loves the Atheist -- in the end, they both live by the same mind and he's accomplished the same goal.

Natural man is incapable of rightly judging. We, as members of the body, have the mind of Christ -- we can rightly judge. How often do we live with the mind of Christ and rightly judge, though? I know I don't!

To get back to my weak analogy, those who keep from using themselves as the point of reference when seeing an injured person are the ones who save lives; those who don't live by natural mindedness but rather with the mind of Christ bear the fragrance of Christ -- fulfilled creatures living into their true identity as image sons.

It's only in Christ where we can find our true humanness. Seek fulfillment and you won't find it. Seek Christ and you'll find fulfillment. Seek happiness and you won't find it. Seek Christ and you'll find happiness. Seek peace and you won't find it. Seek Christ and you'll find peace. Christ is the answer and the point where we find our true humanness as God's image-bearers.

And if you made it through that jumbled mess and want to read more, not to mention much better writing with a much greater understanding, check this out:
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?sourceonly=true&currSection=sermonssource&keyword=sgccdenver&keywordDesc=&subsetcat=series&subsetitem=Sermon+on+the+Mount+Series