“Our lack of self-awareness keeps us from knowing God. Instead of seeing him clearly, we peer at him through the prism of our blind spots.”- John Ortberg
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in you own eye?”- Matthew 7:3
Pastor Ortberg begins Chapter 5 (“Me, Myself, and Lies: Self-awareness”) of I’d Like You More . . . as he depicts the world of difference between being caught up in a mood or emotion and awareness of its presence in your mind and body. In general, John adds, awareness of what you’re feeling brings awareness that you are not your feelings. As a result, you start to see another more clearly and relate to that person more intimately.
Thus, it’s akin to shifting your focus from looking through a window to looking at the window (emphasis John’s). As you step back, you notice the streaks, dust, and cracks distorting your vision. Hence, the Bible often compares lack of self-awareness to blindness or a problem with the eyes. Furthermore, Scripture portrays blindness as a key obstacle to intimacy with God and with others.
One characteristic of people walking around with beams in their eyes involves their effort to remove speck from the eyes of others. Evidently they think God’s failing to do enough speck-removal on His own.
In addition, our capacity for self-deception knows no limits. When it comes to intimacy, self-deception presents a serious problem. Since intimacy is a shared experience, it’s impossible to share with others if we lack self-awareness of what we’re experiencing in our onw soul and spirit. Therefore, John concludes, self-knowledge . . . fundamentally connects to our capacity for intimacy with God.
Today’s question: How do you peer at God through the prism of your blind spots? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “A wholesome fear of God involves knowing yourself”
