As Christians, we all have blind spots in areas of our lives where we fail to see our weaknesses, attitudes, or behaviors as clearly as others may see them. We may sincerely love the Lord, attend church faithfully, and desire to live according to His Word, yet still have areas where pride, impatience, jealousy, or self-righteousness quietly influence our actions.
Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” David understood that he could not always recognize what was hidden within his own hearts. Imagine driving a car with a blind spot in your mirror. You may believe the road is clear, but another vehicle could be dangerously close without your knowledge.
Spiritually, we need the Lord to reveal what we cannot see for ourselves. The humble Christian welcomes God's examination, even when the truth is uncomfortable, because recognizing a blind spot is not a sign of spiritual failure, but refusing to acknowledge it can be.
Sometimes God uses the words or actions of another person to reveal something in us that we have overlooked. Perhaps someone tells us that we are too critical, too quick to become defensive, or unwilling to listen to another perspective. Our first reaction may be to justify ourselves by remembering everything the other person has done wrong. But what if God is using that moment to teach us something important?
Jesus asked in Matthew 7:3, “And why behold thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in thine own eye?”
Consider a personal example: perhaps we become frustrated when someone interrupts us, yet we frequently interrupt others without realizing it. When someone finally points it out, we can become offended and make excuses, or we can humbly recognize our own inconsistency and ask God to help us change.
Proverbs 9:8-9 teaches that a wise person responds to correction by growing wiser. We do not have to agree with every criticism we receive, but we should be humble enough to prayerfully consider whether there is truth in it. God can use even an uncomfortable conversation to make us more Christlike.
However, when we repeatedly ignore the warnings God places before us, our blind spots can become the very things He uses to humble us. Consider Peter, who confidently declared that he would never deny Jesus.
In Matthew 26:33, Peter insisted that even if everyone else fell away, he would remain faithful. Yet, before the night was over, Peter denied knowing the Lord three times. His confidence in his own strength had blinded him to his vulnerability.
Jesus' warning was not given to destroy Peter but to prepare him. Peter's failure brought bitter sorrow, but it also taught him a lesson about dependence upon God rather than confidence in himself Luke 22:61-62. We may experience something similar when we insist that our temper is justified, our judgment is always right, or our way is the only way.
Eventually, a damaged relationship, a painful consequence, or a humbling moment may reveal what we refused to acknowledge earlier. Hebrews 12:11 reminds us that correction can produce “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” in those who are trained by it. God's discipline is an opportunity for restoration, not a reason to remain defeated.
The question, then, is not whether we have blind spots, but how we will respond when God reveals them. Will we humble ourselves, receive His instruction, and allow Him to change us, or will we defend ourselves until our circumstances expose what our hearts refused to admit? James 4:6 declares, “God resist the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."
Do not waste the lesson by becoming offended at the messenger or bitter about the circumstances. A blind spot discovered through humility can become a doorway to spiritual maturity; a blind spot ignored through pride may become a stumbling block that brings us to our knees.
The wisest Christian is not the one who believes he has nothing left to learn, but the one who remains teachable in the hands of God. May we always be humble enough to learn from His warnings before painful consequences force us to learn the hard way.
Hold Fast, -Bren
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