September 19th

The Way of the Wicked

            But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what they stumble over. My child, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.  Do not let them escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.

Proverbs 4:18-22

            “The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what they stumble over.”  There are lights on in my house all through the night.  My children have discovered that they do not like absolute darkness.  Part of that is because they pop out of bed 75 times every night and they do not like to pick up all their toys…two traits that I have spent the better part of two decades trying, unsuccessfully, to change.  They have learned that when they spring out of bed in the middle of the night to tromp to the bathroom that stepping on toys hurts.  It hurts whether you are half-asleep or completely awake.  Tools hurt to step on.  Books hurt to step on.  Board games hurt to step on.  Legos were built in a research laboratory that specialized in how to most efficiently send messages from the foot to the human brain along pain receptors.  My kids have learned that walking in the dark is a sure fire way to hurt yourself and thus they love leaving on as many lights as we will allow them.

            Sin does not turn a man evil.  It turns him blind.  It kills the lights and makes him wander around in complete darkness.  It is true that there is nothing in the dark that is not also in the light, but we were made to detect dangers and obstacles through sight and when that does not work, we lose one of our primary defense mechanisms.  We lose the ability to discern the right path.  We lose our sense of direction.  We lose our sense of perspective as sounds and smells and textures become bigger and more important and scarier than they would have been in the light.  People are generally not evil; they are blind and scared because everything hurts and they cannot see a way out.

            We worked with some blind clients at the day services center and they have a few things to teach those of us who are struggling with sin and spiritual blindness:

·         Go slower: recognize your blindness and act accordingly.  Navigate the world more carefully to avoid injuring yourself or others

·         Use tools to regain confidence:  Utilize support groups, therapies, medications, prayer journals and any other tools in order to stand on solid ground again.  My clients used braille books and walking canes and other tools to function well in their environment.

·         Lean on others: The client’s best friend was their caregiver as they would lean on their provider to help them find the way.  My son hangs on my back like a school backpack when our power goes out.  He follows my every move and does not leave my side by a fraction of an inch.  When we are blinded by sin, we are invited to lean on others as we find our way.  Listen to their advice.  Allow them to help you navigate the bumpy road you are on.

There are times that we are blinded by greed or lust or self-pity or arrogance or any other sin.  In those times, remember the example of those who live without sight and apply it to your life.

           

A moment to reflect:

When have you felt blinded by sin?  What did you do about it?