Last week as I was driving to work, my normal route, the traffic seemed to be moving very slowly. I was in the right lane and became frustrated so I decided to move left to the other lane to pass. I took a quick look in my mirrors, flicked on my blinker, and started to move. Immediately I was surprised by the blast of a car horn. Quickly I swung back over into my original lane. I know I looked but the other car was in my blind spot.
A blind spot is defined as an area where a person's view is obstructed. When you are driving the area just behind your shoulders is often your blind spot.
Just as we have visual blind spots when looking at the road through our car mirrors, we can also have psychological blind spots - aspects of our personalities that are hidden from our view.
Do you have blind spots in your personality? Are there aspects of yourself that you are not fully conscious of?
Your blind spots lie in the intersection of how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you.
What we see clouds our judgement; what we don't see biases our behavior.
All too often our day is only as good as the degree to which our reality matches our pictures.
"The Greatest deception men suffer from is from their own opinions."
-Leonardo da Vinci
Jesus was always making people aware of their blind spots. There are many examples in the New Testament.
Below is one:
Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"
So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to Him. "Which ones?" Jesus said, " You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother and You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
-Matthew 19:16-23
The young man's perception as he approached Jesus was that he had done everything correctly, he had kept all the commandments. I believed he felt that Jesus was going to give him the green light to Heaven. But the young man was blind to his own idolatry. He worshiped material things - his possessions.
No doubt what Jesus had said to him produced in him a sorrow with no words which to respond. That is all we hear from the young man or about him.
How do we know or recognize the blind spots in our lives?
To realize what we don't know requires us first to be willing and open minded to do self-evaluation. We also need to seek external feedback. We must rely on the Holy Spirit, observe, and ask others. Let us seek guidance and correction from Jesus and from those who love us. If we seek out the evidence, God will show us very clearly what is wrong.
Even from the lips of an enemy in anger we may yet get lessons that will do us good to learn.
Swing the door open of your life and pray to your Father. Don't be afraid of what the spirit may reveal, your Father knows you, loves you and is for you.Spiritual nobleness and beauty can become ours only through struggle. Stay focused on God. He will not chase after you but every time the situation presents itself, he will quietly remind you of what needs to be changed. It may be painful like the young man and may cause you great sorrow.
Yet, in the darkness of sorrow, we can learn the song of Joy!!