Blind Spots and Double Standards

David was incensed. He listened as Nathan the prophet described a rich man who was honoring a visitor. Needing a lamb for the feast he was hosting, the man ignored his own herds and vast resources, and instead took a lamb that belonged to a poor man who lived nearby.

This “one little ewe lamb” was all that the man had. It was like a member of the family. But the rich man never hesitated, and he took the lamb for his own use.

David immediately recognized that a great wrong had been done. He saw how the rich man had been cruel and needed to be punished. Looking at this unjust situation, David could be objective.

Yet he did not realize that Nathan had told this story to help David look at his own life in a new way. Similar to the rich man in Nathan’s story, David was the mighty king of Israel, with many wives and an abundance of life’s pleasures. Yet he committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his most loyal soldiers. Then, to cover up his adultery, he arranged to have Uriah killed.

Blind to his own failures and twisted motivations, David seemed to feel justified in his actions. This was just like the rich man in the story Nathan told.

How easily we can be guilty of this same tendency to be blind to our own sins and failures. As a result, we can justify our own actions while being critical of others.

Today, remember the teaching of Jesus that we must take the board out of our own eye before we can remove the splinters in the eyes of others (Matthew 7:5). In your life, seek to be open and vulnerable before God. Lay every thought and action before Him. Be willing to receive His conviction, to repent, and to change as He leads.