Fitting into an Image

My OT class at seminary has been rough on some (if not most) of my classmates for various reasons, chiefly that we are told to re-examine the stories we think we know well. The end results aren't always pretty. Starting with the fact that the stories weren't written as history, they were written as post-exilic commentaries trying to teach Israeli something or to speak of their views of various characters, including God. If thinking of God as a character in a story isn't hard enough, reading full accounts of the biblical stories we only know snippets or overviews of shows that God doesn't neatly fit into our image of the Divine. God's mind and emotions change. God has to "remember". These are just a few examples that sort of throgh our 2nd CE onward philosophical definitions of God (which we of course think are Biblical) for a loop. So we try to rewrite the stories in our mind to justify what we are reading. We feel that we have to protect God's portrayal and image.

This past weekend, I realized that I do the same thing with people. People can make poor choices or do something others disapprove of and I'll be loyal enough to re-write the prospective of the situation to defend them. To make them look good. And to protect my image of them in my mind.

But what are we missing my trying to justify people (and God)? Is image protection really necessary? And will it help or hinder our relationships in the long run?