Part 2, Looking but not seeing

Why do we have so many scales on our eyes that keep us from seeing the truth and what will it take for us to remove those scales? I think these are questions we should be asking ourselves on a daily basis and trying to figure out. 

All people, believers or not, have scales that hinder us from seeing the truth. And we believers can’t say we don’t know about being blinded from the truth because we are given warnings about this in our scriptures. Since we know we suffer spiritual blindness then shouldn’t we be searching for a cure to our spiritual blindness that doctors, friends, and the internet are powerless to help? 

What are some of the scales that blind us and keep us from seeing the truth? They include;

Scales of the PROSPERITY Gospel, which is no Gospel at all. Prosperity preachers tell us God wants us to be financially wealthy and we are God’s children and He wants us rich. That is not in scripture. Many people use Matthew 6:38 which reads; Give, and it will be given to you – pressed down, shaken together, and running over” as proof if you donate your money to church God will pay you back sometimes as much as 10 fold! That is not what that scripture means. People that quote that scripture usually do not mention the last part of the scripture; “For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” Mat. 6:38-39means that if you are generous, God will bless you. Sometimes even with your finances but that is just a small part of the blessings God has in store for us. Check out these following scriptures that tell us the true story concerning money; 1Timothy 6:5, 1 Timothy 5:10, Matthew 6:21, Eccle. 5:10, Matt. 19:21, Acts 8:20. And Timothy in 1 Timothy 6 warns of pastors who don’t tell the truth and think godliness can reap financial gain; 1Timothy 6:5; and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

If the pastor you listen to preaches the prosperity gospel flee from him. Do as we are told in 1 Thess. 5:21 to “test everything hold fast to what is good, resist evil.” 

Scales that keep us from seeing that we are WORSHIPPING our pastor, Another type of blindness is when we are infatuated with and/or idolize our pastors or favorite Christian writer or speaker. Why do we latch on to and idolize a person that is human like us, and we are warned in scripture to be careful of that trap? Some Christian mega-star pastors/teachers are followed as if they were Jesus and their words are infallible. They are beyond reproach and you dare not question them even though scripture tells us to be cautious (1 Thess. 5:21, 1 Timothy 4:1). 

To see if you are in danger of idol worship of your pastor honestly answer the following questions and compare them with what scripture tells us;

1. Do you brag excessively to others about how wonderful he is? 
2. Does he tell you to ignore others that question his teachings and you follow his direction?
3. Is your pastor incapable of doing wrong in your eyes?
4. Do you believe everything your pastor/teacher or Christian author states without testing his    words for truth?

We can’t ignore the scales of EASY BELIEVEISM, SEEKER FRIENDLY CHURCHES, AND PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY. These scales will convince you: that God is more compassionate concerning your sins, that He is more inclusive than what scripture claims, that church is more about you and what you can get out of it, and that the main line churches need to update to the twenty first century. You may accept this because pastors will tell you what you want to hear and not what you need to hear; Matthew 13:15-16 For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them. “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.”

DOES YOUR EMOTIONAL TRUTH SUPERCEED GODS” TRUTH?  Scripture tells us we must live (John 3:21); worship (John 4:23), and be guided (John 16:13) by the Spirit, and to stand firm in the TRUTH (Eph. 6:14). We are also not to let our friend become our enemy if he tells us the truth and we don’t like it (Galatians 4:16).  

Scales will also help us not to see that the little things we ignore concerning how we act. Such as: I can forgive everyone except …; I can cheat on my taxes, everyone does it; these are just small white lies; how dare my best friend tell me I have been prideful, what does he know?; I go to church on Sunday, give my 10%, and have compassion for the poor so I am OK in God’s eyes, and the list could go on. The little things show a lot about our character by the way others see us act in our daily lives and they show the depth of our commitment to our faith. 

The question of the day is “why do we allow the scales to cover our eyes that keep us from seeing the truth?” One of many reasons is told to us in 2 Timothy 4:3-4. It states for the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

My personal opinion is that some people are afraid to learn the truth. If they know the truth then they will be responsible for turning away from their sin (things they like and want to do) and repenting. And this may include distancing themselves from some of their friends and activities they enjoy. Other scales that hinder could be those of pride, selfishness, self-determination, or arrogance. No matter, we need to remember that even small thin scales when placed one upon another can make us totally blind!

Possible reasons that people do not want to remove the scales is that they are not willing to give up control of their lives in order to make the changes needed. Others choose to suppress the truth rather than confront it.  

I also have noticed that we demand truth from others: spouses, doctors, courts, our children, etc, while we do not demand it for ourselves! One more thing to consider: we love the truth when it benefits us but we hate it when it convicts us. 

To me, the following scripture is one of the most important and serious scriptures in the Bible: 2 Corinthian 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test?

If we are in the faith, then we will have a desire to obey the commands of our Lord because we want to, not because we have to. And we will strive to follow His Word, even the things we think are small and insignificant.

I will end by asking a question for us to consider: When was the last time we took a serious look at our moral char WHAT DOES IT TAKE acter (scales) that hinder us from really seeing the truth about areas in our life, and when we found the sin of denial, asking the Holy Spirit to help us remove the scales so we could see the truth and repent?

Blessings to you, Dennis