Spiritual Blindness

13 And so the Lord says,    “These people say they are mine.They honor me with their lips,    but their hearts are far from me.And their worship of me    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.[a]14 Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites    with amazing wonders.The wisdom of the wise will pass away,    and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”15     who do their evil deeds in the dark!“The Lord can’t see us,” they say.    “He doesn’t know what’s going on!”16 How foolish can you be?    He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay!Should the created thing say of the one who made it,    “He didn’t make me”?Does a jar ever say,    “The potter who made me is stupid”?What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord, Isaiah 29:13-16

9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.”[a] These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.  Romans 13:9-11

Spiritual blindness is real. Those of us who profess to be believers should take some time to carefully examine our hearts - our motivations and desires. We need to ask God to show us where we are failing, repent, and change.

It's also good to remember that if we can fall prey to spiritual blindness then how much more is the world around us susceptible to deception. It's not only real, but there are times in history when God allows this blindness to remain.

We need to be aware of this so that we can better prepare our hearts and minds and so that we can fully understand what we are up against. The following verse is always true, but certainly resonates right now.

"For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. " Ephesians 6:12

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;    test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you,    and lead me along the path of everlasting life. " Psalm 139:23-24