How long has THAT been there?

Everybody’s Weird

“Community is the place where the person
you least want to live with always lives.”
Henri Nouwen[i]

We all have an idea and concept of how things are and are suppose to be. Sociologists call these paradigms or worldviews. We all have one and they govern much, if not all of our life. Dietrick Bonhoeffer in his book Life Together said people enter relationships with their own preconceived ideals and dreams of what community should look like. His words are no less than penetrating:

But God’s grace quickly frustrates all such dreams. A great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and, if we are fortunate, with ourselves, is bound to overwhelm us as surely as God desires to lead us to an understanding of genuine Christian community… the sooner this moment of disillusionment comes over the individual and the community, the better for both… those who love their dream of a Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial.[ii]

“We try to separate the world into normal, healthy people (like us) and difficult people” writes John Ortberg. He continues, “Sometime ago the title of a magazine article caught my eye: Totally Normal Women Who Stalk Their Ex-Boyfriends.’

The phrase that struck me was ‘totally normal women.’ What would one of these look like (or a totally normal man, for that matter)? And if the obsessive stalking of a past lover is not just normal but totally normal, how far would you have to go to be a little strange?”[iii]

We all want to look normal, to think of ourselves as normal, but the writers of Scripture insist that no one is “totally normal” – at least not as God defines normal. “All we like sheep have gone astray,” they tell us. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Isaiah 53:6 and Romans 3:23)

This explains a very important aspect of the opening pages of Scripture.

One of the most ironic remarks about the Bible I hear from time to time is when someone ways that it’s a book about pious, stained-glass characters who do not reflect the real world.

I always know that means they haven’t read it. Have you ever noticed how many messed-up families there are in Genesis?

Here’s a quick summary:

Cain is jealous of Abel and kills him.
Lamech introduces polygamy to the world.
Noah – the most righteous man of his generation – gets drunk and curses his own grandson.
Lot, when his home is surrounded by residents of Sodom who want to violate his visitors, offers instead that they can have sex with his daughters. Later on, his daughters get him drunk and get impregnated by him – and Lot is the most righteous man in Sodom!
Abraham plays favorites between his sons Isaac and Ishmael; they’re estranged.
Isaac plays favorites between his sons Jacob and Esau; they’re bitter enemies for twenty years.
Jacob plays favorites between Joseph and his other eleven sons; the brothers want to kill Joseph and end up selling him into slavery.

Their marriages are disasters:

Abraham has sex with his wife’s servant, then sends her and her and their son off to the wilderness at his wife’s request.
Isaac and Rebekah fight over which boy gets the blessing.
Jacob marries two wives and ends up with both of their maids as his concubines as well when they get into a fertility contest.
Jacob’s firstborn son, Reuben, sleeps with his father’s concubine.
Another son, Judah, sleeps with his daughter-in-law when she disguises herself as a prostitute. She does this because she is childless since her first two husbands – both sons of Judah – were so wicked that God killed them both; and Judah reneged on his obligations to her.

These people need a therapist.

These are not the Waltons or the Beavers. They’re not even the Brady Bunch. They need Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, Dr. Ruth, Dr. Spock, Dr. Seuss – the need somebody. (And, you thought your family had issues).

Why does the writer of Genesis include all this stuff?

There’s a very important reason. The writer of Scripture is trying to establish a deep theological truth: Everybody’s weird.

Every one of us – all we like sheep – have habits we can’t control, past deeds we can’t undo, flaws we can’t correct. This is the case of characters God has to work with. In the way that glass is predisposed to shatter and nitroglycerin is predisposed to explode, we are predisposed to do wrong when conditions are right. That predisposition is what theologians call “depravity.” We lie and sacrifice integrity for the sake of a few dollars (“I don’t understand, Officer – my speedometer must be broken”). We gossip for the sake of a few moments’ feeling of superiority. We try to create false impressions of productivity at work to advance more rapidly. (A new software package allows you to surf the net at work, then with one click switch to a fake screen that makes it look as if you’re working on a project; it’s called “boss screen,”) We seek to intimidate employees or children to gain control, or simply to enjoy the feeling of power.

Everybody’s weird. Because we know in our hearts that this is not the way we’re supposed to be, we try to hid our weirdness. Every one of us pretends to be healthier and kinder than we really are; we all engage in what might be called “depravity management.”[iv]




Meditate on the following: Every one of us pretends to be healthier and kinder than we really are; we all engage in what might be called “depravity management

Prayer: God, show me how I engage in “depravity management.”
Action: Spend some time journaling about what stuck out to your in today’s entry.

Theory of Relativity

If you think your family has problems, consider the marriage mayhem created when 76-year-old Bill Baker of London recently wed Edna Harvey. She happened to be his granddaughter’s husband’s mother. That’s where the confusion began, according to Baker’s granddaughter, Lynn.
“My mother-in-law is now my step-grandmother. My grandfather is now my stepfather-in-law. My mom is my sister-in-law and my brother is my nephew. But even crazier is that I’m now married to my uncle and my own children are my cousins.”
From this experience, Lynn should gain profound insight into the theory of relativity.[v]


[i] Henri Nouwen, “Moving from Solitude to Community to Ministry,” Leadership Journal, Spring 1995, 83.
[ii] Dietrick Bonhoeffer, Life Together, Trans. Daniel Bloesch and James Burtness. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996, 9.
[iii] John Ortberg, Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 14-15.
[iv] Ibid., 15-17.
[v] Campus Life, March, 1981, p. 31.

Down by the River

“To make a start where we are,
we must recognize that our world is not normal,
but only usual at present.”
Dallas Willard[i]

A man who visited a community of people who lived by a river. As evening approached, the man was invited to sit down by the river and enjoy a cool beverage and then dinner with the people. While they ate calmly and pleasantly, a 14-foot crocodile suddenly came up out of the river, chomped off the arm of the man sitting closest to the riverbank and then slipped silently back into the dark waters. The people were alarmed and shocked, but they recomposed themselves.

Those closest to the man bandaged him up the best they could and transported him to medical assistance. Then they resumed their eating, drinking and conversation — picking up right where they left off without any discussion of the incident.

The visiting man was horrified that the evening continued as if nothing had happened. Each time he tried to mention the tragic and violent act, someone in the group quickly changed the subject. He made one final attempt to bring up the incident. "A man just lost his arm to an enormous crocodile that came suddenly out of the river. Didn’t you all see that, or was I imagining things?" Someone in the group replied, "Yes, I saw what happened. A number of people are attacked by crocodiles each year in our community."

The man then looked closer at the group and, sure enough, he spotted people who were missing hands and feet, fingers and ears. "Can’t you do anything about the crocodiles?" he asked.


Another in the group replied with embarrassment clearly written on his face, "It is impolite in our culture to talk about crocodiles."[ii]

There is another phrase similar to this story that communicates the same message. It’s the elephant in the room idiom. There are several variations of this phrase: elephant in the living room, elephant in the corner, elephant on the dinner table. It is an English idiom for some issue that is extremely obvious to a group of people, but which is very carefully not being discussed. It derives its symbolic meaning from the fact that an elephant would indeed be conspicuous and remarkable in a small room; thus the idiom also implies a value judgment that the issue should be discussed openly.[iii] The idiom is commonly used in addiction recovery terminology to describe the reluctance of friends and family of an addicted person to discuss the person's problem, thus aiding the person in their denial. The idiom is also occasionally invoked as pink elephant in the corner, perhaps for no other reason than a pink elephant stands out better than a normal one.

Everyone sees it, yet no one says anything about it. Everyone is all too aware of it and seemingly with ease side step right around it. The elephant may resemble an alcoholic father, an abusive situation, a way of communicating or not communicating. Out of no where, dad blows up on one of the kids and the wife looks out the window as if nothing happened. A spouse and parent, get up and go to work, only to come home grab a plate of food, and plop down in front of the television until they drag themselves to bed, only to fall asleep and repeat the drama over again tomorrow. An unhealthy pattern, not doubt – an elephant – but no one’s talking about it. For some it’s not the explosions, but the implosions. Nothing is said, no feelings are shared, silence is the mode of operettas. The examples are countless.


Looking back on family upbringings, each of us can probably at least identify one elephant, many of us can easily spot a whole herd. We can become so accustomed to side stepping around the elephant that we become immune to its abnormality.

Elephants can exists with a person, a couple, a family, a community, even a church. Churches are famous for having sacred elephants. This family doesn’t talk to that family. This person(s) doesn’t like that person’s kids, but enjoy the company of each other. They both are aware of the tension. So all of their conversations become filtered, much is discussed, many laughs are exchanged, but always careful not to bring up particular subjects that would get too close to the elephant (the other’s kids). Friends, perhaps, but not free. It’s a sad reality when you can’t rejoice over what’s closest to your heart with those you call your closest friends. There are many more…


Honest Conversations

q Looking back, what elephants alive and well in your family growing up?




q Are there any elephants that are herding in your family and relationships now?




q Have you sighted any sacred elephants at church?

Hunting Season for Sacred Elephants
Season’s Now Open
No Limit on Number eradicated

[i] Dallas Willard, The Renovation of the Heart, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002, 189.
[ii] As told by Tommy Nelson, Song of Solomon Series.
[iii] Wikipedia encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_in_the_room.

Spirit Talk

That which is born of the flesh is flesh.

That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

(John 3:6)

Jesus words here are remarkably insightful. That which is of the flesh will beget flesh and that which is spirit will beget spirit. The flesh cannot beget spirit, and the spirit will not beget flesh. The two are uniquely different, even at times in opposition (see Galatians 5). This is why good works alone, without active and sincere faith motivating them, are useless, even counterproductive and an offensive to the work of Christ. The challenge, as we have seen, we often come off to other people in a way that we dont intend to. A couple of disciples in their zealous and sincere attempts to serve the cause of Christ and propel His kingdom found themselves in such a boat. They were simply trying to do one thing that they assumed would be pleasing to Christ, yet were spiritually putting off something quite the contrary. Luke captures this telling lesson for us in his Gospel account.

51-It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem, 52-and sent messengers before his face. They went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, so as to prepare for him. 53-They didn't receive him, because he was traveling with his face set towards Jerusalem. 54-When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?" 55-But he turned and rebuked them, "You don't know of what kind of spirit you are." (Luke 9:51)


Question: Why were James and John upset?




Question: Did they think their actions were righteous?



Question: How did Jesus respond to them?



Question: What thoughts do you have about Jesus comment, "You don't know of what kind of spirit you are?




Question: Can you think of a couple personal examples where you were operating in the same venue as James and John?




The History of the Christian Church is filled with moments just like the one with James and John. Wars have been fought, blood shed, people killed, even women raped and children killed, all under the banner and cause of Christ. A series of "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?". And in many cases there was fire - fire to villages, houses and buildings with people inside. Only it wasnt called down from heaven, rather thrown in by a righteous hand and those asking were too passionate to hear the Lords rebuke of You dont know what kind of spirit you are of. Of course, its easy for us, sitting on this side, far removed from the Reformation to throw stones of disgust at the unenlightened Christians of the Dark Ages. But, before we do, we should note the prevalence in our own times. A recent researcher points out that there are more than 33,000 denominations of Christianity in the world. And nearly, if not every one of them was a split. Almost all of them were born out of anger and hostility and withdrawal between people who claimed to follow the teachings of Jesus.[i] Perhaps in many of these cases it wasnt falling fire they were petitioning the Lord for rather something to the effect, Lord do you want us to call up so and so and go start another church over there. And, perhaps, these too missed the Lords response of, You do not know what spirit you are of.



A man is rescued from a desert island where he survived alone for fifteen years. Before leaving, he gave his rescuers a little tour of the buildings he had constructed as a sort of one-man town over the years: That was my house, that was my store, this building was a kind cabana, and over here is where I go to church. Whats the building next to it? Oh, thats where I used to go to church.

There is another fascinating passage in Scripture regarding this very idea of saying one thing, but releasing another spirit. Its found in the book of Acts.

16-It happened, as we were going to prayer, that a certain girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling. 17-Following Paul and us, she cried out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation!" 18-She was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I charge you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" It came out that very hour. (Acts 16:16-18)

Try to imagine the scenario playing out before you Paul and a number of his journey companions are traveling about. They come to a certain city, where are openly sharing the Gospel of Christ. As would often happened, there was a crowd, and even certain individuals that would seem to linger day after day, always faithfully showing up to listen again while they were in a particular region. This time it was no different. Of those who lingered and followed, there was a certain girl who seemed to be paying close attention to what was going on. She even begins to verbally affirm the Apostles and their message. She cried out with a loud voice, These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation! She was doing this many days. All seems to be well. After all, who wouldnt appreciate a little home town support. Yet, interestingly, Paul wasnt all that excited about her support, nor her verbal accolades. In fact, Luke describes in some detail Pauls level of appreciation. He tells us that Paul was becoming greatly annoyed.


Question: Why do you suppose Paul became greatly annoyed with the servant girl?



Question: All she was saying was true, why did it annoy Paul so much?


Theres much that could be said about this account and what was transpiring in the spirit realm that day. In short, she was saying one thing with her mouth, even something that was seemingly affirming, encouraging and true. Yet, at the same time, in the spirit there was another message being released. A message that was counterproductive to the work of the Holy Spirit and the spread of the Gospel in that place. Paul put a stop to it! The same is true for us. We can say something that is true, but not be rooted in the Truth Himself. We can say one thing, seemingly harmless with our mouth, but release something quite contrary with our spirits. The question at hand during these times is, can we hear the master say, You do not know what spirit you are of?




Question: What thoughts and reflections do you have regarding this idea of saying one thing (verbally/physically), yet releasing something quite different in the realm of the spirit?

For Additional study see Appendix Three:

Words & the Spirit Behind Them

[i] Newsweek, April 16, 2001, 49. Why do you suppose Paul became greatly annoyed with the servant girl?



Words & the Spirit Behind Them

be filled with the Spirit.
(Ephesians 5:18)

Picture a suitcase that has been stuffed and crammed full of garments and accessories ready for the vacation journey. At face value

Grasshoppers, Grapes & Giants

“There we saw the giants;
and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight,
and so we were in their sight.”
(Numbers 13:33)

This is a fascinating verse, with awesome implications for each of us. The children of Israel had just been delivered from the power of Pharaoh’s dominating hand a few days earlier. God, through Moses, sends in a group of people to inspect the land God had promised to give to them as an inheritance. With the images of the Red Sea being parting with floating bodies of an Egyptian army still fresh in mind, they were sent on a mission to investigate the land, the people and the produce. Having experienced such a powerful deliverance by God’s might hand, how could anyone set out on such a mission, without and overwhelming confidence that God has given us this land as an inheritance.

They went into the land and what they found astounded each and every one of them. The first account of their observations are perhaps the most mind blowing. They came across a vineyard during the peak season. Moses had instructed them to, “’Bring some of the fruit of the land.’ Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.” (Numbers 13:20). These were no ordinary grapes. They cut a cluster down and it took two fully grown men to carry it. They placed a pole over their shoulders with the grapes tied in the middle. Imagine that, a cluster of grapes that is so big two strong men have to carry it. It is believed that each of these grapes was the size of a basketball. Each grape would have feed a family all by itself, what about the whole cluster? Not exactly the kind of thing you find on sale in the produce department at Martins Supermarket!

The grapes weren’t all. They also reported, “’We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.’” If the grapes where proportionately at least 100% larger, how big must the honey comb must have been, or what about the cow? Whatever the case, this must have been some sight.

All was not well in this new land. Just as the grapes were bigger, so where the people who were eating them. Scripture describes them as giants. There is much speculation about who these people were, where they come from and so forth. Suffice to say for now, simply put, they were “a people great and tall.” (Perhaps the very first consumers of the famous Big & Tall retail stores).

This is where the story becomes very interesting. The twelve spies came back. The invade-the-Promise-Land pre-campaign committee had met and developed their assessment of the situation. In short, they said, “the giants are too big over there. It would require too much; we are not ready to move. We propose that we stay put where we’re at.” At least this is what ten of the twelve said. There were two others who gave a completely different assessment and proposal.

The ten only saw the giants they would have to face if they moved forward. The ten saw beyond the giants to the fruit and produce that would be acquired in the transaction. The ten only had vision to maintain their wilderness status quo, while the two had vision to expanding in every direction into a new day and a new era. After all, wasn’t this what God had promised their fore-fathers? It’s amazing how they all looked at the same time, but interpreted the realities differently. Both were sincere, but one group was bound to fear and pessimism, while the other was bound to faith and vision.

There is a great insight into the realm of human interaction and the realities of the spirit found in the “bad report” given by the ten spies. They said, “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:33)

The ten spies are given their assessment of the situation. They said when they compared themselves to the giants they came up short – way short. As if they were mere grasshoppers. But what about the giants? What was their assessment? What had they heard about this God of the Israelites? We aren’t told for sure what the pure assessment of the giants was. We know from other biblical accounts, that the fame of this God had spread near and far. It was not a small head-line that the Israelites’ God had split the Red Sea, swallowed up an entire army and delivered the children of Israel in one small sweep. Fear of these people and their God also spread throughout the land, for rumor had it that these same people where heading towards new lands and their God had promised to act in their behalf. It is a safe assumption that the giants of this inspected land had heard of these reports and had their own sense of fear that the children of Israel, as small as they may be, if they come with their big God would prevail hands-down and overcome anyone found standing against them.

Again, we are not told what these people felt and thought about the Israelites prior to their visit of investigation. We are only told how they felt about the children of Israel during and after the spies made there way though the camps.


“We were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” Could it be that the image held by these ten spies about themselves was more than an idea, an assessment or even a belief, but rather something of a deeper substance, a sub-terrain reality – spirit? And, this spirit, this image that they held about themselves was projected towards the giants and so the giants saw the children of Israel as the children of Israel saw themselves?

Have you ever known a person who walked in a spirit of rejection? Regardless of their looks and personality, something in their life (an incident, an upbringing, a wounding experience) caused a spirit of rejection to take root deep within. And then, out of that spirit, other people time and time again end up rejecting that person. There just seems to be something transpiring in the spirit that causes them to be rejected again and again. Or, what about a person who ends up in a victimizing relationship again and again? Like a magnet, they always seem to draw certain types of people to them. It’s said that sex offenders and pedophiles can spot a kid who’s been abused with great accuracy. How can this be? Outwardly, the kid may look, act, interact, dress and play like all the others, but they can tell. Is there some sort of demonic spirit at work? (You bet’cha!).

Something is put off… a personal presence…a vibe…a spirit of some sorts. And others simply (and often unknowingly) act, interact and respond to these persons accordingly. Amazing! Unfortunately, we (the projector, if you will) are the last to know.



Question: In the above passage the twelve spies were divided into two groups (the ten who said their too big & the two who said, God was bigger), Does your disposition towards life in general tend to be more frequently illustrated by the ten or the two?

Question: How is this disposition manifested in your daily life?



For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
(Proverbs 23:7 KJV).

Question: What are your thoughts about the phrase, “we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:33)?



Question: Are there certain grasshopper mentalities that you possess that get projected onto others?

Question: How can these mentalities be changed?

Mi Consigliere!

Where there is no counsel, the people fall;
But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
(Proverbs 11:14)

Remember the last time somebody rubbed you the wrong way? Does this person even know he offended you, or did you just quietly grumble under your breath and go about your business ... perhaps gossiping about so-and-so to your close friends, and snickering over what a clueless knuckle-head this person is?

But flip this scenario around, and imagine moments when you're the clueless nitwit, unknowingly alienating friends/co-workers or engaging in self-destructive behavior, while others titter behind your back.
Not quite so amusing

As children, we expect grownups to correct our manners, grammar, and behavior. In the process, we open ourselves to change - we learn, we adapt, we grow. But somewhere during the transition to adulthood, we cross the invisible boundary labeled 'you ought to know better by now,' and that flow of feedback slows to a trickle, and then stops. And as goes feedback, so goes your development as a human being.

Think of all the self-defeating and objectionable behavior you witness among your friends and acquaintances; unfortunately, given the choice between bringing up potentially uncomfortable topics or turning a blind eye, most opt for the latter. And so we go along, blissfully unaware, with our growth curve flat-lined, making the same mistakes over and over again ... before an audience of knowing peers too polite to point out your flaws to your face.

We dont typically take our tips for living from the mafia, but even they have something to teach us in the isolated society we find ourselves. In the Mob, high-ranking capos (leaders of groups of individuals involved in organized crime) put tremendous trust on their consigliere, a senior advisor who exists outside the chain-of-command hierarchy of the organization (and thus, capable of more objective advice), for valuable outsider's perspective. Of course, the benefits of having consigliere are not limited to just mob bosses. Everybody has personal blind spots - flaws in our temperament or personality that cause needless conflicts, spawn preventable problems.

Consigliere
SYLLABICATION: con·si·glie·re
NOUN: An adviser or counselor, especially to a capo or leader of an organized crime syndicate.
ETYMOLOGY: Italian, from Latin c nsili rius, from c nsilium, advice. [i]


A good consigliere acts as a corrective force that can call you out on your excesses and offer the sort of pointed observations about your habits and foibles that quietly cripple you.

Scripture has much to say about one being open to, even enlisting others to serve as their personal consigliere. Scripture calls those who have at least one person speaking with the authority of a consigliere a wise person. Conversely, Scripture calls those without such a person foolish, or to put it bluntly stupid. We will look at this concept in more depth in the weeks to come. (See appendix for a sampling of verses concerning this subject).




Question: Have you ever solicited this type of information from someone? If not, what are your fears and apprehensions.

Question: If those around you were aware of something that would help you, would you want them to tell you?







Question: Who is your consigliere, and what are the blind spots (professional or personal) that you wrestle with?






Action: The next time you see someone you have more than a casual relationship with rather than asking them

How are you doing? ask them, So, how am I doing?.


[i] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

For addition insight read Appendix Two entitled
A Fools Proverb

A Fools Proverb

Pr 10:8 The wise in heart will receive commands, But a prating fool will fall.
Pr 10:18 Whoever hides hatred [has] lying lips, And whoever spreads slander [is] a fool.
Pr 12:15 The way of a fool [is] right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel [is] wise.
Pr 12:16 A fool's wrath is known at once, But a prudent [man] covers shame.
Pr 13:16 Every prudent [man] acts with knowledge, But a fool lays open [his] folly.
Pr 14:3 In the mouth of a fool [is] a rod of pride, But the lips of the wise will preserve them.
Pr 14:16 A wise [man] fears and departs from evil, But a fool rages and is self-confident.
Pr 15:5 A fool despises his father's instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent.
Pr 15:7 The lips of the wise disperse knowledge, But the heart of the fool [does] not [do] so.
Pr 17:7 Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, Much less lying lips to a prince.
Pr 17:10 Rebuke is more effective for a wise [man] Than a hundred blows on a fool.
Pr 17:12 Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his folly.
Pr 17:16 Why [is there] in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom, Since [he has] no heart [for it]?
Pr 17:24 Wisdom [is] in the sight of him who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool [are] on the ends of the earth.
Pr 18:2 A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.
Pr 18:6 A fool's lips enter into contention, And his mouth calls for blows.
Pr 18:7 A fool's mouth [is] his destruction, And his lips [are] the snare of his soul.
Pr 19:1 Better [is] the poor who walks in his integrity Than [one who is] perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
Pr 19:10 Luxury is not fitting for a fool, Much less for a servant to rule over princes.
Pr 20:3 [It is] honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel.
Pr 23:9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
Pr 24:7 Wisdom [is] too lofty for a fool; He does not open his mouth in the gate.
Pr 26:1 As snow in summer and rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool.
Pr 26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him.
Pr 26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Pr 26:8 Like one who binds a stone in a sling [Is] he who gives honor to a fool.
Pr 26:11 As a dog returns to his own vomit, [So] a fool repeats his folly.
Pr 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? [There is] more hope for a fool than for him.
Pr 28:26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.
Pr 29:11 A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise [man] holds them back.
Pr 29:20 Do you see a man hasty in his words? [There is] more hope for a fool than for him.

Blind Spots

“Now as Jesus passed by,

He saw a man who was blind from birth.”
(John 9:1)

Today, most of us don’t have personal contacts or personal experiences with people who are blind. And so for some of us, the blind people we see are few and far between, usually only downtown in a bustling city. In our limited experiences, we usually see a blind person carrying a white cane. We watch them standing at an intersection, waiting for the light to change, listening to the people move across the street when the light changes. They carefully put their white cane in front of them, feeling the curb and where to step off the curb. We marvel at the ability and tenacity of blind people to get around.

In college, I had a friend who was blind. I would occasionally visit his dorm room for some late-afternoon discussions. During these times, we would frequently participate in one of his favorite past times – playing video games. About now, you’re probably thinking, “huh?!...video games?” These were my thoughts the first time he said, “Hey, you want to play Mortal Combat?” These thoughts quickly ceased after he demolished me five games straight. I never did figure out how he knew where I was on the screen. in front of his character, behind him, it really didn’t matter, my friend could tell by the sounds of the jumps, leaps and punches where I was at all times, and most of the time that was easy, since I was laying on the ground under his deathly blows.

It is with these stories that we approach the verse for today about the man born blind. Blindness was a very common disease in Jesus’ day, not like today having to go to downtown Chicago to experience blindness. In Biblical times, blindness was primarily caused by a water duct, located beneath the eyelids, drying up. The water duct under the eyelids became dry and the eyelids became puffy and swollen, as did the eyeballs themselves. This kind of blindness was spread by flies and was aggravated by the hot desert sun and desert sands. It was a highly contagious disease and the only way to contain it was to quarantine the people who had this dreaded blindness. It now has a technical scientific name, ophthalmic conjunctivitis. You see this kind of blindness nowadays in Third World countries, where there are swollen red eyelids and swollen eyeballs. The point is: blindness was very common in Biblical times. Blindness was found among your family and friends.

The Jewish people of that era believed that when the Messiah came, the Messiah would heal blindness. The prophet Isaiah said that the Messiah would heal many diseases e.g. the deaf would hear, the lame would walk, the lepers would be cleansed, and the blind would see again. When Jesus came, he healed two blind people and these were signs that the Messiah prophecies in the Old Testament had come true. Jesus healed the man born blind and that story is in the Gospel of John. Jesus also healed blind Bartimaeus and that story is in the first three Gospels. Jesus healed these people of their blindness and these healings were a sign that the Messiah and Messianic age had finally arrived.

We recall the story of Luke, the author of the New Testament books: Luke and Acts. Luke was also a physician. The physician Luke uses many technical medical terms in his book Luke/Acts. You can actually visit the archeological ruins of the medical school in Pergammon, Turkey where it is believed Luke attended medical school.
Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him,

"Are we blind also?"

(John 9:40)

At the end of the story in John 9, the Pharisees questioned: “Are we blind?” And Jesus answered, “You better believe it. You are blind.” The Pharisees countered Jesus, “How do you say we are blind? We have the four pillars of faith. That is, we go to synagogue faithfully each week. We pray every day. We give our ten percent, our tithe. We know our Bibles. How can you say that we are blind even though we worship faithfully, pray, give our money, and know our Bibles? How dare you say that we are blind.” Jesus said, “I know, but you still are blind.

The Pharisees had their blind spots and we too have personal blind spots. I have my blind spots and so do you. We have our blind spots in our marriages, in our parenting, in our work habits, in our personalities, especially in our personalities.

We all have our blind spots, and we don’t quite realize our blind spots. You drive a car and look out your rear view mirrors and side mirrors but there are always blind spots and you can get hurt by those blind spots.

Our culture is also has blind spots and is blind about so many things: love, happiness, marriage, sex. It happens that our culture can become anesthetized to the world around us; anesthetized to the violence, the sexual innuendo, the millions of people suffering from AIDS around the world. We can become blind to these people and situations. This is called cultural blindness.

For example, it’s not uncommon for a weekly TV sitcom to illustrate something of the following nature. An attractive young virile couple gets on an elevator together, crowded with other people. As the elevator goes up, the man and woman start a flirtatious relationship with each other. They give each other the eye for twenty floors, and at the twentieth floor, they both get off. The woman meets her husband on the twentieth floor; the man meets his wife. The man and woman each walk off with their spouse but turn and send one more flirt. The implication? Cute, funny, a loving flirtatious fling. The subtle suggestion often portrayed by such shows is that love, that is really exciting, comes from a new relationship. What I am suggesting that our culture, our media, our movies, our values, are blind about what it means to love, to grasp what it means to love each other sacrificially, to grasp what it means to love when someone is worn out and tired. We, as a culture, can become anesthetized to the violence, the sexual innuendo, the enormous suffering of the world around us. We can become numb to all of this and not see what is happening. We can become blind and truly not see.
Individual people can become blind.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they lay down for the night and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend. "Watson, look up and tell me what you see." Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars." "What does that tell you?" Watson pondered for a minute.

"Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all-powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Why, what does it tell you?" Holmes said, "Watson you idiot, someone has stolen our tent."

“O, happy the soul that saw its own faults.”

Mevlana Rumi

What do you think?

Question: As it relates to driving a car, what is a blind spot?



What do you think?


Question: Have you ever almost collided with another car as a result of failing to check your blind spots?





Question: What must one do to see into the blind spot areas?

Question: How is the analogy of automobile blind spots applicable to human action, interaction, and interpersonal relationships?

Individual, Spiritual & Cultural Blindness
John was born in 1740 in England. He grew up in the Anglican Church. This little boy went to church and learned his Bible verses. His mother died when he was only eleven years old, and so he traveled with his father who was a ship captain. His cargo was black slaves and he would have two to three hundred slaves down below in the ship hole, lying next to each other. You could imagine such an experience if you watched the film, AMISTAD. The father himself was not a slave trader but a boat owner who shipped the cargo of black slaves.
In a storm, little John Newton was washed overboard and was picked up on the open seas by a slave trader. Little John Newton no longer had a mother nor father. Little John was learning to become a slave trader like the man who rescued him. One day, John Newton was up in his cabin, reading the Bible and also an old devotional classic by the name of IMITATION OF CHRIST, by Thomas a Kempis. A miracle began to occur. The Holy Spirit got inside of him and worked a miracle and he was converted. He knew that personally he was wrong; he knew that his culture was wrong. He personally was in complicity with the evil of slave trading. His society was in complicity with the evils of slave trading, but he didn’t see it. He didn’t realize or comprehend the enormity of the evil nor his complicity with evil. But that day, a miracle occurred and Jesus the healer got inside of him and healed his spiritual blindness. And so John Newton composed a song which is now one of American’s favorite hymns: “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” I once was blind but I finally see what I have been doing wrong. Jesus always comes to heal people who are blind. John had a huge personal blind spot in his tolerance for slave trading; and did his culture. And Jesus healed John Newton’s spiritual blindness

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.”
Confucius6th century bc