“We are so deeply corrupted by the fall that we’re still surprised by the effects of the fall. We slip into thinking that we must be right, that of course we’re correct. The other fellow must be incorrect. I must have the right number and I must have dialed it correctly. There can’t be any typos in this text. My translation must be correct. That “must” is the definition of presumption.”

Recently I’ve received a few wrong numbers each looking for the same person. I’m reasonably sure that a couple of the calls are from the same person. He doesn’t seem to be convinced that Jaunito is not at this number. I’m not sure how to convince these folks that they have the wrong number. We’ve all done something like this—assumed that our premise was correct, that we’ve followed the correct procedure and so we’re stumped when it doesn’t work out as we expect. We’re so sure of our premises and process that we even question the results, as if the results aren’t real. Well, these callers did reach my phone and not Juanito’s. I’ve had this number for quite a few years so I’m reasonably sure that Juanito hasn’t had it during the same period—unless the phone company is renting the same phone number to multiple parties. That’s a possibility but it’s unlikely. Were they doing that, we might avoid some of these new area codes and had some really interesting phone conversations. You might not remember “party lines” but there was a time when multiple homes shared the same telephone line. An operator would send a different number of rings down the line to signal which phone to pick up. Of course, all the phones on the line rang and it was always a temptation to pick up and more than a few people did. Of course one was always circumspect about what was said on a party line under the assumption that someone, if only the operator, was listening. If everyone was on the line at the same time then I suppose that was the first chat room. I guess there’s nothing really new about “social media” after all? I digress.

Why is our ignorance so invincible? What do facts and reality have such a difficult time penetrating our heads? As a Christian who makes a Reformed confession, i.e., who adheres to the Reformed theology, piety, and practice my explanation of such denseness is sin. We live in a fallen world. We know what must be, even when it isn’t, because our hearts, our intellects, and our wills are corrupted by sin. The effect and affect of sin is profound. We do not think aright. We do not choose as we ought and we do not love well. All of our faculties are warped by sin. This is why our Lord says that, by nature, we love darkness rather than light (John 3:19).

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