Are You Aware of Your Blindspots?

 

Proverbs 12:15 - The way of a fool is right in his own eyes; but he that hearkens to counsel is wise. 

    It is an unhappy propensity in all of us, that once we decide that we are right about something, we bulldoze ahead, not listening to anyone, or considering what others have to say. This is what the Bible describes as the way of a fool.

    The pathway of the foolish is the course that they are on; it is the habits, patterns and methods that are consistently followed. In the fool’s narrow mind, he is always right. When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden, He commanded them to refrain from eating of one specific tree: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Some have suggested that it could be called, the tree of the knowledge of right and wrong. If we are not careful, it is very easy to fall into this foolish way of living; that of making all our decisions based on who’s right and who’s wrong. Years ago, a young married man decided that his wife was not listening to him, so he took her to my pastor friend, and described in detail how she was wrong. My friend quietly listened and then wisely answered him by saying that he could either insist on being right, or he could be married. He was living by right and wrong instead of partaking of a different tree; that of the tree of life. Isn't this our tendency?

    If we think we are right about something, and we may be, we should first, wisely consider what others think. Some people brazenly say, ‘I don't care what anyone thinks.’ While it is true that we do not care what everyone thinks, surely, we care what some people think. I certainly care what my wife thinks, I care what my children think, I care what my coworkers think, and I care what my pastor thinks. There are significant others whom we must wisely consult and listen to before making our big decisions. Another's perspective is essential to a successful life, because we all have blind spots.

    When driving down the road, before we make a left-hand lane change, we check our rear-view and side-view mirrors, but we also sensibly do a shoulder check, because in between those two mirrors is a blind spot. This is how we get into trouble and many collisions take place. We don't discipline ourselves to take the necessary precautions before going ahead. If we want to remain safe, we cannot skip the shoulder check. Listening to another's counsel is like that shoulder check, and wisdom will always lead us to do it. We have seen many things like this happen. We can see the person up ahead begin to make a lane change, and because we are far enough back that we have perspective, we can see that he's going to crash into another car. It is so clear and obvious to the one who has perspective, but not to the one who thinks he's right and blindly moves ahead.

    We can see this same thoughtlessness illustrated when a pedestrian, who has the right of way, foolishly steps off the curb without looking, and is hit by a car. He may have been right; he even had the right of way. The driver was unmistakably wrong, but sadly, in this case, the pedestrian was killed; he was so right, that he was dead right.

    Let's be wise, friends, and slow down and ask the trusted people around us what they think. We may not like everything we hear, because we may learn some unpleasant or unflattering things about ourselves. As we grow older, it is harder to hear those things and change, but a wise and humble person will always do it.