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Are You
Blind! I was joking with Regena
the other day about discovering the counter part to “male blindness.” What
is male blindness? To hear most wives speak, their husbands can not find any
thing. I must admit to suffering from this ailment from time to time. I go to
find something only to say, “I don’t see it.” Only to have Regena to walk
over and pick up that which I have been searching for. What is the female
equivalent to “male blindness?” It is the garbage pale. I believe many women
believe that if the garbage pale is full, you just need to press down on it some
more or just start piling other garbage on top of the already full garbage can. There is a solution to
“male blindness” and “the garbage can syndrome.” It is to be aware of
what we are doing. For men it means to seek instead of look and for women it
means to notice when the can is actually full. Let me make a spiritual
application to spiritual blindness. Jesus spoke of those that were spiritually
blind among the Jews. In Matthew 15, Jesus told the Jews that it is not what
goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of that person. The
Pharisees were “offended” at this statement. Jesus responds, “Let them
alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind,
both will fall into a ditch." (Matthew 15.14) Later on Jesus gave the
parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. He told of a man beaten and left for
dead on the side of the road. A Levite and a Priest pass by on the other side.
We are not specifically told why they did so, but we know the law speaks of
loving one’s neighbor. Had they shown love for their fellowman?
Dare I say that they were blind to their responsibility to this man? The
one man that loved his neighbor was the Samaritan who helped. He did not see his
responsibility as a burden but as an opportunity. Spiritual blindness can
be caused by a number of things. Ignorance will cause people not to see God’s
will. Once they hear the word of God, their eyes are open. Love of sin will
cause some to be spiritually blind. They do not see the truth for the same
reason a criminal does not see a police officer; he is not looking for one.
Perhaps the greatest cause of blindness is indifference. We do not see the truth
because we are looking at other things. We are too busy to see what needs to be
seen. As I read passages such
as Matthew 15.14, I wonder if the Pharisees knew they were blind. They were the
educated, the scholars of the Law of Moses. Yet they did not grasp the whole of
God’s word. Five times in Matthew 23 Jesus uses the word “blind” to
describe the Jewish leaders. Let such be a warning to us. We may think we are
seeing everything that needs to be seen, but be blind to certain things. For instance, we may be
blind to opportunities to spread the Gospel of Christ. The “Great
Commission” in Matthew 28.18ff applies to all of us. Are we truly seeking
opportunities to talk with our friends, neighbors, and family about the word of
God? We may be blind to those that need our encouragement. “And let us
consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10.24).
This passage is not limited to our encouragement in assembling together to
worship God. We all need encouragement from time to time. We need to see those
visiting with us at worship services. When was the last time you walked up to a
visitor and introduced yourself to them? Another thing that causes
us to be blind is being too busy. “Idleness is the devil’s workshop” is an
old saying. It rings true, but business can also be a tool of the devil. We may
intend to visit someone in the hospital or spend time with a home bound
Christian and never “get around to it.” It is not indifference causing our
blindness, but our hectic lifestyle. Jesus came to open the
eyes of those spiritually blind. Let us see all that there needs to be seen.
Having the right answers is one thing, doing the right thing is another.–
Dennis Tucker |