Blind Spots

Blind spots. We all have them, whether we are willing to admit it or not. In relationships. In politics. In our personal prejudices. These blind spots are figurative, not literal. We can't see them, but they exist none the less.


Thanks to my stroke in 2016, I have a literal blind spot on my right side. Unless I'm looking directly at you, I won't see you on that side since I have no peripheral vision on that side. As a result, I sometimes walk into people or things, because I can't see them on that side. I'm oblivious to what is there.


Today has been designated National Dog Day, which has me remembering our little fur person. You may be wondering what that has to do with blind spots. So I'll explain. When we were living in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and when Molly was a much younger dog, we often spotted a large hawk flying overhead as Molly wandered around outside. That hawk could easily have eaten Molly for lunch! Or dinner. Or breakfast. Or a snack. But you get the point. Yet Molly just wandered around, looking for the perfect spot to take care of business. Or sniffing for squirrels or chipmunks. Or just lying in the sun. All the while, danger was lurking overhead. Yet she was completely unaware. Oblivious. It was her blind spot.


I share this because I'm concerned that too many of us are much like Molly. Completely oblivious to the dangers that surround us. In the culture. In our schools. In the workplace. In the movies we watch and the books we read. We have blind spots. We can't see what's going on around us.


The time to blindly accept everything we see or hear as truth is long past. We need to be alert to the lies and half-truths that surround us. We need to compare everything we are told, everything we ready or hear, to the plumb line of God's Word. Even what we read from the Christian bookstore or hear in church. And most especially what we hear on television or from social media. We need to be careful that what is being presented as truth is, in fact, truth. And not just because it fits your personal opinions (which might be your blind spot). But because it lines up with God's Word. The enemy of our souls knows that his time is short, and he will use any and every means available to achieve his goals.


"Be on the alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, fir in the faith." (1 Peter 5:8-9 HCSB)


"Be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of the immoral and fall from your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (2 PETER 3:17-18 HCSB)


"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves."
(Matthew 7:15 ESV)


"...for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." (Acts 17:11 NASB, emphasis mine)