(DIS)ILLUSIONED

I have been having a lot of fun in conversations with this word. It's amazing that the majority of the population sees it as a negative thing to be disillusioned. When I then ask them why anyone would want to live their life in illusions it usually always leads to some very interesting conversations. Having illusions dissed suddenly seems to become a good thing to think about.

I was asked this by a client today; Who are you going to vote for? and it led us into a conversation about a major illusion that was exposed in my life a couple years ago...The nature of Power. I came to see clearly how I had lived trusting in worldly power (Caesar's power) and how it seemed to stand in the way of the wonder of the power of the cross in my life. The account of Jesus standing before Pilate began such a transforming experience in my life. What a telling moment in the history of humankind and by in large the organized religious system of Christendom since the time of Constantine has missed it and accepted the illusion (lie) instead. Organized religion became the legitimizing voice of Empire, governed by Caesar's power, the very power Jesus stood in silence before, because he never lived in any illusions and he trusted his Father.

I wonder if there were any that day that believed Jesus' assessment of who held the real power? Especially seeing how that day ended. Illusions created by what we see or what we think we see can be very hard to overcome. I guess that is why most people end up accepting them as being reality? But a couple of years ago I began to see through the illusion created by the power used by the world system to manipulate and control me and I began to take back the misplaced trust I had in it. The world leaders of our day are as wrong as Pilate was while he stood questioning Jesus.

These thoughts were a part of the conversation that followed my clients question to me today about who I was going to vote for. From the things she shared with me I got the sense that some illusions were beginning to come down in her life also. She also left with some book titles of Jacques Ellul that she asked me to write down for her. It's going to be interesting to talk to her again when I see her in a few weeks and hear if any more illusions have been dissed. Maybe she will be another one who will join me in this journey of being GRATEFULLY DISILLUSIONED?

By the way, you can order the shirts here