Life on Planet Earth on Blind Spots

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The Range of What We Think and Do

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 19:12, Proverbs 14:12, Jeremiah 17:9, 1 Corinthians 3:18-19, Matthew 6:26-34

In this short poem, the psychologist Daniel Goleman (the developer of the concept of Emotional Intelligence (E.Q.)) builds on the work of R. D. Laing’s “knots.” The poem is a helpful reminder that our...

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Realizing We are Biased

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

James 2:1-9, Leviticus 19:15, Deuteronomy 1:17, Romans 2:1-11

When I went to seminary to prepare for the ministry, I met an African-American student, Elward Ellis, who befriended both my future wife, Kathy Kristy, and me. He gave us gracious but bare-knuckled me...

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Getting Feedback is Hard

Author

Bob Merritt

Keywords

We all have blind spots. We all have flaws in our personalities, behavior, or work habits that we can’t see, and they block our performance and growth. But others can see them. If we permit them to gi...

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Losing the Other Eye

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Nehemiah 4:14

Professional football players often get heated on the field, sometimes letting their emotions get the best of them when penalized by an official. Art Holst, a longtime NFL referee, recalls a Sunday ga...

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No One is Greedy (Apparently)

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Some years ago I was doing a seven-part series of talks on the Seven Deadly Sins at a men’s breakfast. My wife, Kathy, told me, “I’ll bet that the week you deal with greed you will have your lowest at...

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The Stalker

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 13:6, Matthew 7:15-16, Matthew 10:28, Ephesians 6:12, 1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 11:14, Proverbs 14:12

Editor’s Note: This story is often told as a true story, when in fact it is probably fictitious. Nevertheless, there is a significant illustrative point: sometimes the things we fear most may in fact ...

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Judging Others Stems from Self-Judgment

Author

Curt Thompson

Keywords

But it is important to be aware that the act of judging others has its origins in our self-judgment. As I often tell patients, “Shamed people shame people.” Long before we are criticizing others, the ...

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Reducing People to the Madness of a Single Moment

Author

Jonathan K. Dodson

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 11:2, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Philippians 2:3-4, Luke 18:9-14, Matthew 23:1-12

In his thoughtful book, Our Good Crisis: Overcoming Moral Chaos with the Beatitudes , Jonathan K. Dodson points out our blind-spots with respect to pride: We rarely think of ourselves as proud. I...

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Turning from Judgment to Compassion

Author

Gregory A. Boyd

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 10:5, Matthew 7:1-5, Luke 6:37-42, Romans 14:10, James 4:11-12, 1 Corinthians 4:5

Even for those of us who follow Jesus on a daily basis, the reality is, our sinful nature has infiltrated our minds, and we often find ourselves, either consciously or unconsciously, judging those aro...

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Author

Tertullian

Keywords

Blindness

Scripture

Matthew 13:13, Matthew 13:1-23, Isaiah 6:9-10, John 9:39-41, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 1:18

Two kinds of blindness are easily combined so that those who do not see really appear to see what is not.

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A Beautiful Mind Learns Discernment

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Some of you may remember the film A Beautiful Mind , named after the book with the same title. The book is based on the life of John Nash, played by Russell Crowe, a brilliant mathematician and profe...

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Author

Jonathan Swift

Keywords

Blindness

Scripture

2 Peter 1:9, Ephesians 4:18, Revelation 3:17, Romans 1:21, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Matthew 15:14

There's none so blind as they that won't see.

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Author

Helen Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:13, Matthew 13:1-23, Isaiah 6:9-10, John 9:39-41, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 1:18

I have walked with people whose eyes are full of light, but who see nothing in wood, sea, or sky, nothing in city streets, nothing in books.... It were better far to sail forever in the night of blind...

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Regaining Sight

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 146:8, Isaiah 35:5, Isaiah 42:16, John 9:, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Ephesians 1:18

In Annie Dillard's Pulitzer Prize winning book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, she mentioned the work of Marius Von Senden who became curious about the effect it had on people who had been born blind to...

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Missing the Stars

Author

Keywords

Blindness

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:18, Colossians 3:1-2, Ephesians 1:18, Psalm 119:18, Matthew 13:16-17, Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1

Søren Kierkegaard told a parable about a rich man riding in a lighted carriage driven by a peasant who sat behind the horse in the cold and dark outside. Precisely because he sat near the artificial l...

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Author

Desiderius Erasmus

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 1:18, Proverbs 29:18, Psalm 119:18, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Revelation 3:17-18, Isaiah 42:7, John 9:39

In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

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Author

Helen Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 2:2, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Ephesians 1:18, Proverbs 29:18, John 9:39

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.

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He Once Was Blind

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 19:1-4, Psalm 146:8, Isaiah 35:5, Isaiah 42:16, John 9:, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Ephesians 1:18

For fifty-one years Bob Edens was blind. He couldn’t see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness. And then, he could see. A skilled s...

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Driving at Night in the Rain

Author

Darren Pollock

Keywords

Scripture

2 Peter 1:16-21

One of the most dangerous driving situations is when it is raining at night. Not only are the streets slippery and visibility obscured by water on the windshield, but wet streets can reflect light fro...

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The Invisible Gorilla

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 13:13-15, Luke 8:10, Isaiah 6:9-10, John 9:39, 1 Corinthians 2:14, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 1:18

Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons conducted an experiment at Harvard University more than a decade ago that became infamous in psychology circles. Their book The Invisible Gorilla popularized it...

liturgy

God of healing, we look for you in all

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

John 9:1-7, Mark 8:22-25, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Psalm 146:8, Isaiah 55:8-9, Luke 24:13-32, Acts 9:1-19

God of healing, we look for you in all the wrong places. We assume we have figured out how you are at work. Because of this, we miss out on seeing your glory, and we fail to join with you as partners ...

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Author

Iris Murdoch

Keywords

I can only choose within the world that I can see.

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Author

Blaise Pascal

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 14:12, 1 Peter 1:15-16, Galatians 6:7, James 1:22, Romans 2:6

If it is an extraordinary blindness to live without investigating what we are, it is a terrible one to live an evil life, while believing in God.

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Author

Fanny Crosby

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:8, Isaiah 42:16, Psalm 27:4, John 9:39, Revelation 22:4, 1 Corinthians 13:12, Hebrews 11:1

If I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind... for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Savior.

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Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:8, John 21:15-19, Jonah 3:4, Matthew 18:21-35, 2 Samuel 12:1-7, Romans 14:10-13, James 4:11-12

Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.

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Driving with Your Eyes Closed

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In this little thought experiment, Harvard psychologist David Ropeik demonstrates just how easily our fear of uncertainty can make us as we imagine driving a car with our eyes closed: Imagine driving...

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Self-Deception Discovers False Solutions

Author

The Arbinger Institute

Keywords

Self-deception . . . blinds us to the true causes of problems, and once we’re blind, all the “solutions” we can think of will actually make matters worse. Whether at work or at home, self-deception ob...

Quote

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Proverbs 28:13, Matthew 5:3, Isaiah 6:5, Psalm 51:3-4, James 4:10

If I am in denial about my own weaknesses and sin, there will be a concomitant blindness to the greatness and glory of God.

Quote

Author

William Shakespeare

Keywords

Blindness

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

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Overwhelmed by Vision

Author

Annie Dillard

Keywords

On the effect of seeing for the first time after Cataract Surgery: The mental effort involved in these reasonings proves overwhelming for many patients. It oppresses them to realize, if they ever do ...

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