“Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:” Jeremiah 5:21

Do we have vision problems or can we just not see? Sometimes people are accused of having selective hearing but I think some have selective seeing also. We can see the faults of others clearly but we have a hard time being able to focus in on our own faults. Even when we admit that we too sin, our sin is clearly not as “bad” as other people’s sin. Does our vision keep us from seeing how self-centered we are? We think everything revolves around us and everything needs to be done the way we want it and when we want it done. Do we see how our words, attitudes, and actions affect those people around us in a positive or in a negative way? Do we see the consequences that may come from our sin before we choose to give in to that temptation? Do we see ourselves as God sees us or do we view ourselves in comparison to other people? Can we see the areas of our lives that are full of hypocrisy due to compromise in our lives? Can we see how we exclude people around us because they are not up to “our standard” or they don’t have the same interests as us, or they are not in our little clique, even though they were created in the image of God just like we were? Can we not truly see ourselves the way we really are or is pride keeping our vision distorted? Our own self-righteous pride can have us so messed up and that will cause us to not even see the most important thing that God sees. We are looking for the wrong thing and in the wrong places. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” Do you have vision problems or can you just not see?

***Sign-up now for YEC (Tennessee Baptist Youth Evangelism Conference) in Nashville, March 9-10. Cost is $20 plus 3 meals. You will need to miss the last half of the school day on that Friday. Deadline to sign-up and pay is Feb. 15.

***Youth volleyball and pizza – Saturday, Feb. 18 from 5-8PM.