Today's Soul Food — April 2
 

I’ve been a daily glasses wearer for almost 25 years. My first go round with them was in the 3^rd grade when I was able to convince my reluctant Mom and an optometrist eager to make a sale that I needed them to read. At the time, they were nothing more than window glass lens with a magnifying bifocal. It was about six months later when it eventually dawned on me that there was nothing "neat" about glasses that I was miraculously cured and consequently disposed of them. Thirteen years later, my "miracle" expired and I found myself increasingly unable to know when my exit was coming up on the Interstate because the Department of Transportation just couldn’t seem to make those big green signs big enough for me to read in time. Being in my early twenties might have made contacts an automatic choice given the fact that I still had looks (or so I thought) and a not-quite-matured male ego still defining who I was by how I appeared. However, I opted for the overt optical hardware primarily because I was just beginning my career as a marriage and family therapist and had grown particularly sensitive to the question "Just how old are YOU anyway YOUNG man?" Glasses afforded me an easy 3-5 maturational years. The beard that accompanied them tacked on a couple more. Now at age 44, I figure a razor and contacts will instantaneously transport me back to a fit 25 year old. Now, now…quit being so skeptical!

After years of living life through my lenses, I’ve noted an interesting phenomena that only another wearer O’ the glass can truly appreciate. There are times that I will remove my glasses and hold them up to the light, only to find that little light is able to pass through them due to a stratification of built up sediment and rock deposits encrusted on them. They have become so spattered and dirty that it amazes me I’m not walking into walls. Upon discovering my sight-impaired condition, I usually utter a judgmental "Yuck!" and then make a mental note to find some glass cleaner ASAP or any liquid (even the self-produced variety) that will help restore me to the world of the sighted. Along those lines, I wouldn’t at all be surprised if the blind man Jesus healed by spitting on his eyes was really just having his glasses cleaned by the Master. My vision has been so distorted that at times "men have appeared as trees walking around" too.

Nevertheless, the really interesting thing is not how I manage to maneuver while looking through soiled lenses, but what I often do next: Nothing! That’s right, nothing. I will make my discovery while attending to a host of other simultaneous tasks; brushing my teeth, looking for my wallet, feeding the dog, and gathering up my papers before dashing out the door. In the flurry of activity, the mental sticky note falls off of my mind’s bulletin board and winds up in my cerebral cellar. I then go about my day totally oblivious to the distortions that knowingly lie "right before my eyes." I get so caught up and pre-occupied in the press of the day, that it may be hours or days later until I realize that my condition has worsened to the point of being legally blind. How does this happen?

I know nothing about the science of optics, but it appears that the closer our distortions are to us, the easier it is for us to see through them, compensate for them, and learn to live with them. It is only when I remember to remove my glasses and hold them up to the light at arm’s length that I get a true picture of my condition. How like dirty glasses is sin. It gradually builds up across the field of our vision over time, not in one fell swoop or sudden splash. If it did, we would startle and instantly wipe away the effects in order to restore our sight. Instead, sin enters subtly suggesting "minor" compromises and indiscretions. "What’s so wrong with taking a little peek at that adult Web page I heard the guys talking about at work?" "Hey! Bob and I only had one drink after work. It’s not like we ran off to a motel or something?" "Ok, ok…maybe I rounded that business expense up a few extra points on my tax return, but give me a break, I probably missed a few other legitimate deductions elsewhere, so it all balances out in the end, right?!" A smudge here. A spot there. Before you know it, you’re walking around in an ever increasing haze of rationalizations and justifications that, themselves must be intensified in order to compensate for the sin they’re trying to conceal. What you’re left with might be akin to using axle grease to clean mud from off your glasses.

What’s needed? First, you must simply stop. Stop long enough to realize you’re not seeing things clearly. We live in a sin-distorted world that expends more energy maintaining the distortions than it does in clarifying them. Secondly, take off your "glasses" and hold them up to The Light. This step gives the needed perspective, distance, and illumination needed. It is only in Christ’s true light that we are able to discern our true condition. Finally, resolve to restore your vision with the cleansing Truth of His Word. When we humbly and honestly hold up our clouded perspective to God and ask Him for cleansing, He is more than happy to honor our request. His Word not only pierces to our innermost parts, dividing soul and spirit, intent and desire, but it also washes away the grim and girt of this world’s blinding lies and distortions. That’s not going to be pleasant nor pretty, but you just may find that it strips the blindfold from off of your eyes moments before you were preparing to take your next and final step off of the cliff.