Watch for Blind Spots
2 Samuel 12:7 David is quick to judge someone else's sin and does not look at his own. Nathan has to point out that the sin is David's. The same is true for us today,
1/22/20262 min read
Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 2 Samuel 12:7 (NKJV)
"You are the Man!" was the statement that Nathan delivered to David. After David committed the sins in the previous chapter, God sends Nathan the prophet to call him out. Nathan tells the story of a rich man who is greedy with lots of sheep killing a poor man's only sheep to feed a visitor in his house. David is furious and tells Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives the man will die!" Nathan lets David know he is that guy, in which David realizes that he was quick to judge someone else without looking at his own sin and repents before the Lord.
People often judge others without considering their own faults due to a combination of pride, envy, insecurity, and other sinful motivations. We put on blinders when it comes to our own sins and easily see the sins of others. We judge them for their appearance, mental health, parenting choices, if they are rich or poor, their background, and lifestyle choices. As Christians, that is not what Jesus wants us to do. Matthew 7:3-5 says, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” God wants us to work on our sins first. If a brother or sister has sinned, we are not to judge them but help them with their sin in a loving manner.
Choose to look for your blind spots. Do a searching and fearless moral inventory to expose them. In doing so you will have an increased self-awareness able to focus on personal growth rather than the sins of others. Choose to help others caught in sin in love and without judgement. Share your own struggles and your story with them offering the hope of God's love and grace even though they are struggling. Hold others accountable for their actions and challenge them to live out their faith in a way pleasing to God, pointing them to Jesus, who can truly overcome sin and offer hope and redemption. We all are "the man" and when we accept that, we can rid expose our blind spots and love like Jesus.