2nd Corinthians 4:4 (ESV)
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” Paul
Matthew 15:14 (NIV)
“Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” Jesus
Romans 1:18 (ESV)
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Paul
2nd Peter 1:9 (ESV)
For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed his from former sins.
Sometime this year I will celebrate my 50th birthday. It’s good to understand your mortality, the journeys you have taken, the battles won and lost, and the investments of time, energy, and effort that have yielded fruit. Even loses in the kingdom of God don’t return void. If we properly pray and examine them, we will glean valuable lessons. God will waste nothing. Even our sins will be used to warn others of the consequences of waywardness. This is a strategic year for me again, as is every year. It’s a year of learning how to respond better to the myriad challenges that arise in life. They come in terms of relationships, health, and resources. God is faithful and has always added light and wisdom in my struggles. Steadfastness is the key requirement. A new year with a new journey before me prompts me to share some lessons from the previous ones. Bear with me as I begin…
Although I have been saved since my mid 20s, I’ve remained blind to things on my journey. I have learned about some of my blind spots, and now I have people that hold me accountable in regards to these. They are direct people that I have invited to be in my inner circle. According to proverbs, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of enemy are deceitful.” (Proverbs 27:6) This is a profound and remarkable truth. If your friends never wound your pride with candidness — you need new ones. They actively help us resist the evil one if they are worth their salt.
The scriptures clearly tell us that our adversary actively blinds unbelievers and believers alike. I shudder at some of the things I have thought and done prior to conversion and even afterwards. Blind to my pride and the opportunities God provided me with, I would seek my own way, persisting in self-justification. I had opportunities given to me, and I rejected them because I judged the vessels and their motives. I’m not talking discernment, I’m talking judgment. Their doctrine, approach, correction, and way of doing things rubbed me the wrong way, and I missed out. They were more advanced than me, and I frankly felt that I should be or was on their level. In my 20s I was a rhino charging ahead at everything I envisioned. Instead of thanking them or showing gratitude, I pushed opportunities away — blinded by pride. I believed God had no reason hook me up with partners and mentors. I was a foolish man in my early years of faith, priding myself in a solo approach to faith. Now, I seldom do anything solo unless I am prompted by the Spirit, and that rarely ever happens.
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I’m not alone in this foolishness, but I own the past and the present. Ownership of transgression without excuse is the beginning of favor. My trifecta included: pride, anxiety, and unbelief. I tried to secure a present and future driven by my own visions of what my life should be like. I was never led by these; they drove me. Finally, I began to master them by the Spirit in my early thirties, but they took a toll. I thank God for the godly men in my life that pointed this out and helped me through. I thank God for the folks I did not listen to till later. I even thank God for my adversaries, who could not wait to point out my faults. Truth is truth, regardless of the sources. Today, I don’t know of anyone bearing fruit alone. Blind spots require us to enlist guides and folks to look out for us.
The glaring truth with the first three passages from the scriptures above is the fact that they point to conspirators of blindness. True I was blinded, but how? I bought into the lie that I could do something if I followed a script. I was not blinded on my own, neither were you folks. I was taught this was the way things were done. I did not receive sight alone, and neither did you. His people reached out to me in my early 20s and at 26 — God made Himself known. God worked to give me light and to keep in the light with the right relationships, resources, information, and ultimately a union with Him. The drawing process involved increasing light. As I responded to it, God gave more.
When I walked in darkness and lawlessness, the enemy increased my favor with worldly people and gave me insights into the ways of the world and the mechanisms of deceit.The most skilled people I have encountered knew how to get people to carryout their evil intentions, without the follower even being aware until it was too late. I shudder to think what I would have become. I was Satan’s child until I met a forthright God. Now he may not always tell me what the outcome is going to be when He leads me to obey, but He does let me know it is His will for me to simply move in a certain direction, and now, that is enough.
As a believer, you are not immune to blindness. When you came to Christ, you came with blind spots. Some of them were: emotional, doctrinal, cultural, ethnic, experiential, pet sins, cherished relationships, habits, and preferences. Some were even based on your own gifts and talents that you learned to trust over God. Many of you may be blinded by opportunism, always believing you deserve more credit, recognition, or the right to be heard above others. When we carry these attitudes with us, we teach others the same, and in short, make other disciples in our image and likeness — blinding them in the process. All of these things contribute to our blindness, poison our relationship with God and others, and in short, make us less useful to the Creator. In my 40s, I learned a lot more about humility, which is the fastest way to clear vision. I’m still learning. I charge you folks to embrace it. It may be you are stuck and not promoted in His kingdom because of these things. I was, and I thank God to this day, that he showed me why my growth was stunted. Light and truth may hurt, but blindness destroys. It’s the work of the devil to “kill, steal, and destroy.” His kids are active too.
Satan’s Kids
When Paul spoke of guilty folks who “suppress the truth,” we often fail to grasp the significance of his use of the term suppress. It’s the Greek word, katechó, meaning: hold fast, restrain, arrest.The terminology is used to show an active pattern of casting down, wrestling — knee in the back, nose to the ground imagery. In other words it is an application of will and force. You see folks work hard to make sure the truth of their nature and sins are suppressed. If that is not wicked enough, they want to make sure, no one else has the opportunity to figure things out for themselves with the truth. One of the key strategic elements of God’s plan in overcoming evil at the cross was to make publicly known to all men who Christ was. The fog about who God is could no longer be justified after His life on earth and resurrection. The God of Blindness and his children stubbornly persist in their efforts to create fog, but we know the truth, and their efforts will fail. We proclaim this message in spite of the counter narratives about God’s identity and purpose.
I’ve been on high functioning teams since my teenage years. In some cases I have worked with folks who have done unprecedented things; that only happens when there is focus, contrary to blindness. Currently, I cut my teeth in security and law enforcement consulting and the spectrum of the work is wide and a good watchman needs keen sight and depends on the sight of others. The one thing you learn is the value of team and relationships because lives are on the line. Adversaries love to create and exploit blind spots. Treachery is real; relationships are difficult to maintain and everyone who works in the field is carefully screened and undergoes numerous background checks before they are approved. Our God has done all of that with us and more when He selected us for this wonderful salvation. We have passed the background check and have been given the key to everything Christ has for us in our callings. The right relationships, allotment of resources, and measure of health have been provided. So what are you looking for? Could it be that you don’t see you have all you need, because of your excuse making and blind spots? Now it is up to us to heed Peter’s words and not become “nearsighted and blind” to the works of the evil one and our proclivities to value our blind spots over His light. Our battles against darkness are real, so too are the wins and losses. There is never a bad time for a candid talk with God and those you trust to uncover your blind spots.
There is too much at stake to ignore this instruction. I fear that in the church we have followed the winds of deception rather that the simple instruction of the Spirit to embrace what He has provided us in terms of clear instruction. We need to put the self-seeking wrapped up in godliness… aside. I think this is the greatest blind spot we all have, intermingling God’s will with our own. May God save us even more from our self-deception and the blindness that follows.
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