“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment…”   –Romans 12:3–

 

Lake Wobegon is the fictional little town made famous by the writer Garrison Keillor. Keillor describes Lake Wobegon as the village “where all the men are strong, all the women are good looking, and all the children are above average.”

A college professor named David Myers coined a term based on Lake Wobegon’s fictional reputation. Myers coined “The Lake Wobegon Effect”. The Lake Wobegon Effect refers to a person’s natural tendency to overestimate his/her capabilities. Professor Myers applied this term to any community or group who see themselves as “exceptional”. I imagine the term “American Exceptionalism” fits this description.

The Lake Wobegon Effect has also been called “Illusory Superiority” and “The Overconfidence Effect”. The definition given in those cases, is as follows: “A cognitive bias whereby individuals overestimate their own qualities and abilities.”

Psychologists have labeled this as one of many “positive illusions”. Positive, because we need some sense of high self esteem in order to survive and thrive in the world.

Christians have long cherished the virtue of humility. Humility involves a refusal to overestimate ourselves, our talents, and our perspectives. The Apostle Paul was quoted at the beginning of this article. Paul tells the Roman Christians not to live lives based on false pride. Paul’s words can be misinterpreted.

Paul’s words, in Romans 12:3, have often been misread. Paul is not saying that we are without value. Paul is not denying that we are special, precious people. But Paul is saying that we have a tendency toward “The Lake Wobegon Effect”. We do tend to overestimate who we are in relation to other people.

My Ethics professor, in seminary, was James Burtness. Dr. Burtness was given to confronting people when he believed they needed to be confronted. He once told an overly self confident friend of mine: “Martin, somewhere along the way you have developed an opinion of yourself that is unwarranted.” Sometimes our self-concept needs to be challenged.

Scholars say that Paul’s words occur at a transition point in the Letter To The Romans”. Paul is beginning a section of the letter that is devoted to the formation of healthy community. This part of the letter takes seriously “our partnership in Christ”. We are not called to be lone rangers. We are called to function as one body, united by God’s grace.

We can take genuine pride in ourselves. We are, after all, created in the very image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). But our self-image can be destructive if it causes us to be less than charitable or makes it impossible for us to listen to the other person.

C.S. Lewis wrote:

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself—but thinking of yourself less.”

The fine distinction Lewis makes is worthy of our attention. We don’t think less of ourselves; but we refuse to put ourselves at the center of all things.

I was told of these words of wisdom from a high school Biology teacher:

“Every organ in the body does its job—not for itself—but for the rest of the body.”

No wonder the Apostle Paul saw a relationship between our biological bodies and the Body of Christ, the community of the baptized. We are precious in the sight of God and we are called to function well for the sake of the rest of the Christian community.

The next time you are in a conversation–even having a disagreement–with a fellow Christian consider “The Lake Wobegon Effect” and ways it can be avoided—for the sake of the Body of Christ.

Pastor Larry