Blind Spots

Psalm 19:12b, “…cleanse thou me from secret faults.”

If you’re familiar with driving, you’ve probably heard the term “blind spot”. When you’re in the drivers seat, and you look into your side mirror, then you look over your shoulder, there’s a sliver of area that you are still not able to see. This is called a “blind spot”, and whatever lies in this area is potentially very dangerous…especially if it’s another vehicle that’s in the lane you want to turn into!

Last year at The Wilds Camp, we had a morning session for youth workers taught by the camp director Ken Collier called “Open My Eyes to the Blind Spots”. It was very eye opening because he revealed that we ALL have areas in our lives which we are not able to see, but that someone else needs to point out these blind spots.

Have you ever heard someone say something so profound that you think, “whoa, that was deep!”? Something Brother Collier said hit me like this. Here it is…"In the area of your greatest strength lies the potential for your greatest weakness."

What is your greatest strength? Some strengths are gentleness, dynamic personality, spiritual leader, sacrificial serving, organizer, great friend, etc.

I’ll use myself as an example to explain what this means. I believe one of my greatest strengths is “organization”. I’ve been told that I’m very good at organizing things, and planning the details of events, projects, etc. So according to his statement, if I want to find my potentially greatest weakness, I need to look at this strength. It didn’t take me long to identify my weakness! My weakness in this area is that I’m very impatient with others who aren’t organized, or with people who don’t plan things like I would. I get frustrates when things don’t go well due to poor organization & planning.

For me, this impatience is one of my blind spots, and I need to be careful to guard against this.

How can you find out if you have blind spots? You might have a blind spot if…
1. You see the same weakness in everyone else. Maybe the problem isn’t everyone else, maybe it’s you! (Example…”All guys are such jerks.” If you see the same weakness in all guys, maybe the problem isn’t with all guys, maybe the problem is your outlook on life!)
2. You try to be a leader, and people don’t want to follow. Maybe there’s a problem with your leadership style that others see, and you don’t see.
3. People are hesitant to talk with you about problem areas in your life because you’re so defensive. Eventually, they give up trying, and hope you fail so you’ll be taught a lesson.
4. You sense that people push against you in certain areas.
5. People say that you are either unbending or unbalanced. Many people believe that you are this way on purpose; whereas, you don’t realize that you’re like this.
6. People avoid you at certain times or in certain settings.
7. Family members have adjusted to you, lost respect for you, and are bitter against you. It’s wrong when people need to adjust to my sin!

If you suspect that there is a blind spot in your life, the first step is to admit you might have a problem. Don’t act like you’re above having problems, and deal with them head-on.

Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

1 Peter 5:5b-6, “…for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”

Take the “2-Friend Approach”:
Your closest Friend, Jesus is ready to help you. Go to Him and…
1. Humble yourself and ask Him to show you any blind spots.
2. Assume that there is at least one blind spot in your life.
3. Blame on one. This is no time to be defensive with God or man.
4. Confess all you know about the blind spot, and make restitution as necessary.
5. Respond immediately in obedience to that which God reveals to you.
6. Study the Bible about your blind spot to gain wisdom about it.

Find a close friend (either another teen or an adult that you can trust) and ask that person these questions:
1. What is the most obvious thing about me that troubles other people?
2. Is there an area of my life that you have wished you could have talked to me about, but you were afraid I might not understand or be hurt or defensive?
3. I have a blind spot. I believe it is in the area of ___________, but I’m not sure. I know it’s there, but I can’t see it clearly and deal with it. If you can help me, I can get started on solutions.
4. I want to become more like Christ. What do you see in my life that keeps me from doing this?
Please keep me accountable in this area, and pray for me.

Psalm 19:12b, “…cleanse thou me from secret faults.” EVEN THE ONES THAT I’M NOT AWARE OF!