There are many things that I cannot do if I were visually blind. I can read a book in Braille but I cannot appreciate the beautiful illustrations in the book. When I go to Gardens by the Bay, I cannot appreciate the brilliant colors of God’s creation in nature. If my friends are going to enjoy the latest X-men movie, I cannot join them. in. There are many tech advances that have enabled blind people to live fulfilling lives. Yet despite all that tech advances, there are still many things a blind person cannot achieve or appreciate. However, an affliction much worse than physical blindness is spiritual blindness. It causes the one affected to shut off the voice of God and his people and that can lead to tragic consequences.
One
sad example of spiritual blindness from the Bible is Saul. In 1 Sam 13,
spiritual blindness made him forget his position. He rashly performed the
sacrifice that was Samuel’s job. When confronted by Samuel, he rationalized it
with the excuse that Samuel was late and because of that, the Israelite army
was panicking and scattering. In 1 Samuel 15, he disobeyed God’s command to
destroy the Amalekites completely. To look good, he allowed his soldiers to
spare the best Amalekite animals as plunder. Even the Amalekite king was
spared. Probably Saul wanted to look good by having the humiliated Amalekite
king grovel before his throne in chains as that was the practice of conquering
kings. When Samuel confronted him in his disobedience, Saul deceitfully claimed
the best animals were meant for sacrifice to the Lord. When David returned from
victory over the Philistines, the women celebrated with dancing and singing,
“Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands.” That made Saul
very angry. 1 Samuel 18:8-9 records, ‘this refrain galled him. “They have
credited David with tens of thousands”, he thought, “but me only with
thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” And from that time on, Saul
kept a jealous eye on David”’. He refused to accept the truth that David was
God’s anointed king to replace him.
That’s
Saul – spiritually blind to God’s Word. His blindness led to rebellion against
God’s Word and hatred for God’s anointed. He increasingly hardened his
conscience until evil became second-nature. In I Samuel 22:6-10, we can see his
spiritual blindness resulting in paranoia. News of David’s movements had
reached Saul who is holding court in his hometown at Gibeah. What is
interesting is the scene, “Saul was seated, spear in hand… with all his
officials standing at his side” (v6). This is a picture of a paranoid man. Why
would he need a weapon when he is among loyal friends who would give their
lives for him? The paranoia creates insecurity in Saul. He reminds his fellow
Benjamites that David cannot give them wealth and power (v7). By implication,
he is claiming that their wealth and power was because of his largesse towards
them. That’s how power-hungry men of the world work. To ensure people are
dependent on them, they dole out financial reward or the threat of financial
loss. They do this to ensure leverage over their peers and followers. Saul’s
paranoia makes him accuse everyone of conspiring against him. Even his own son
Jonathan was not exempt from Saul’s baseless accusations. Saul could not see
that he himself was unjust and despite the fact that he was unjust, Jonathan
remained loyal and faithful to him. Later in Chapter 31, Jonathan would follow
his father into death, fighting the Philistines. Saul claims here (v8) that
David and Jonathan had conspired by making a covenant with one another to seize
the kingdom at his expense. This covenant is most probably the one made in I
Samuel 20. In his blindness, Saul could not grasp the fact that Jonathan was
obeying God’s Word and yet remaining loyal to Saul at the same time. Jonathan
knew that David was God’s anointed for the throne. Despite being crown prince,
Jonathan submitted to God’s Will instead of fighting David. Yet, Jonathan also
preserved the prosperity of the house of Saul. David covenanted that Saul’s
descendants, through Jonathan’s line, would always have a place at the King’s
table. What Jonathan did was wise.
So
far, Saul was 100% spot on in his negative interpretation of everyone. And he
continues this blindly claiming this covenant is why David is waiting to ambush
him. The biblical facts indicate the opposite. David was in hiding and
scrupulously avoided any confrontation with Saul. It was Saul who was using his
resources to stalk David instead of uniting to fight their common enemy, the
Philistines. He then ends his paranoid tirade with “none of you is concerned
about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me”
(v8). Looks like the king is sinking into self-pity. If that scene was played
out today, his listeners could well be thinking, “concern for you? Hello Saul,
can you look at yourself in the mirror? Wake up Saul. Smell the coffee, lah!”
They would be justified in thinking that. After all, his life was a picture of
self-sufficiency, malicious distrust, uncontrolled anger and even attempted murder
of his own son Jonathan and son-in-law David. Would anyone find such a
character endearing? I doubt so. Yet, instead of self-reflection, Saul sulks in
his corner and plays the blame game, “none of you is sorry for me”.
I
believe spiritual blindness deceives a person into thinking he is the victim
when in reality, he is the perpetrator. Such people never think they are to
blame for their inter-personal relationship challenges. A friend once told me,
“Luke, if 2 people out of 10 don’t like you, you can say that’s not your fault.
But if 6 or 7 people out of 10 don’t like you, it’s good to examine yourself.
Maybe you need to change.” That’s a wise maxim for Christian life too. When
things go wrong, do we play the blame game and point the finger at another? Or
do we examine ourselves to see whether we have communicated with our colleagues
and subordinates accurately. When we fall flat on our face, do we retreat into
a corner and sulk, ‘nobody understands me’ and point the finger at another
person? Or do we accept accountability
for our mistakes and apologize? This truth applies to all Christians. If
colleagues or classmates do not want to work or associate with us, we should
humbly reflect to see if we are the problem. Do we build our fellow workers up
or do we use them for our own glory? I have always believed that when we love
people unconditionally and desire to see them achieve their best for God, they
will do their best in the work assigned to them.
The
crux of it all is that walking with God daily is the one important thing for
all Christians. We can only love others with the love that we have experienced
with Jesus as we walk daily with him in a transformational relationship. It
transforms us to love others the way God loves them. When we do that, people
are also transformed to give their best to God. Saul couldn’t grasp this
concept of loving others. His was a transactional relationship. That’s why he
resorted to doling out rewards or the threat of removing rewards. If he had
loved God, he would have humbly acknowledged the grace of God in choosing him
as first king of Israel. He would have celebrated David’s victories and be
happy as Jonathan was, in being second and David first. Had he done so, the
nation of Israel would have prospered and God glorified. But he didn’t.
Spiritual
blindness can result in great tragedy. It led Saul to make a prejudiced
judgment against an innocent and blameless priest of God, Ahimelech. It
resulted in the profane deaths of God’s servants in Nob. In our modern times
too, spiritual blindness has resulted in the fall from grace of many of God’s
servants through lust and power. Yet, oftentimes we excuse ourselves with the
rationale that no one is perfect. Or we comfort ourselves with the truism that
the Gospel is still marching forward. I would like to think of it another way.
If the Gospel can advance so far in spite of our disobedience, let us think
then how much farther, beyond even our imagination can imagine, the Gospel can
advance because of our obedience.
