Seeing Beyond the Blindfold

A few years ago, I was out getting ice cream with a friend downtown. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon– radiating the kind of warmth that makes the ice cream melt faster than you can eat it. As we were entangled in conversation near the front entrance of the building, a woman with a walking stick passed by where we were seated. At first glance, she looked to have some vision impairment and was unable to see where she was going. Except there was something off about the scene my friend and I were witnessing.

The “blind person” was blindfolded.

There was another individual aiding the “blind woman” who held a timer and was clocking the time it took for her to get from wherever she had come from to the door of the establishment we were sitting in front of.

When she finally reached the door, the woman removed her blindfold and looked back at her companion, who said, “You didn’t beat your personal best. You lost some time back when you first started.”

This person wasn’t blind at all! They were engaging in some sort of challenge, which implied that they had done this multiple times before. I may never understand why someone would want to pretend to be blind, but the memory has stuck with me all these years.

The more I thought about it, the more it resembled the dangerous reality many people face today. How many people do you know choose to wear a blindfold when they get ready for the day? Hopefully, none, because that would be bizarre. But figuratively, people are blindfolded by choice all around us.

I believe this phenomenon occurs directly due to our country’s turning away from God. As a nation that once stood for principles that could be found in the Bible, we now live in a culture unashamed of their wicked ways.

Unashamed of using God’s name in vain in everyday speech and explicit music. 

Unashamed of idolizing sin and promoting profane, secular behavior.

Unashamed in cursing those with Christian morals and values.

We live in a world where specific talking points are outrageously offensive to anyone who doesn’t have the same view. Feelings have become “facts.” The truth is no longer based on anything remotely reliable or verifiable. People believe whatever they want to believe. A man can become a woman, and a woman can become a man. Our world congratulates covetousness. Selfishness is always in style. Greed has captivated generations. 

Our culture is embedded in impiety– a lack of reverence and respect for God. Although it can sometimes be sickening to see how far humanity has fallen, I am simultaneously saddened by its state of separation. I’m sad that people choose corruption. I’m sad that unrighteous idols have been appointed to reign in the lives of so many.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a picture of what our character should look like as true heirs to the Kingdom of God. The traits that Jesus exemplifies don’t mirror what we see in the world. The nature of those that make up most of the world today is the polar opposite of what’s given as part of the Beatitudes at the beginning of Matthew 5. In verses 11-12, Jesus knows how divided and isolated those who wear the name of Christ can feel as we are called to be apart. He calls those mistreated and unwelcomed by the world blessed.

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

I love that Jesus comforts us with the reminder that our reward is the Kingdom of Heaven. And no one can take that away.

Furthermore, Jesus says in Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” How sad is it that so many people are content to go through life, never fully experiencing God? It’s easier to put the blindfold of the world on than to give God the fullness of our hearts. However, the blindfold can only blind us if we let it. Some people say ignorance is bliss, but in Proverbs 3:13, we read, “Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding.”

God doesn’t wish us to remain enslaved by the cloak of darkness. But unless we exchange our mindsets and our heart postures for ones that are virtuous, refined, and open to the Lord’s teachings, we will never see Him. Being pure in heart involves having our desires distilled into the desires of God. And for that to occur, we must allow a process of godly purification to take place. We must be diligent to remain undiluted by the world’s influences. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll remain untouched by the world; instead, we won’t allow the world’s lies to contaminate our hearts. The pureness of God can cleanse any disingenuousness that may have been inscribed within our pasts. The world may not admire our authentic selves, but we know we’re approved and adored by God.

To avoid being rendered sightless by society, we must take daily measures to see God everywhere and every day. If we don’t, the places in our lives where we should be experiencing God will be overrun by the worldly things that Satan would rather have us see instead. 

Once we desire to see God, we will be met with the ability to see Him. To be in His presence. To hear His voice through His Word. God is with us wherever we go.

However, let us not forget those who haven’t seen God fully. Or those who choose not to. God still loves them and wants them to return home to Him one day. May our lights shine bright enough for someone to notice and remove their blindfold. May our ability to see God allow us to see those who need Him more.

For I once was blind, but now I see.