What are Your Blind Spots?
“As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout,
so is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.”
(Proverbs 11:22)
What did that look like in King Solomon’s day?
Back then, nose rings were considered a beautiful ornamentation – and, an Old Testament law prohibited God’s people from eating pork or even touching a pig. Solomon made a stark contrast between a beautiful woman who is not discrete with the most unclean animals.
It still looks like that today!
Makes no sense…inappropriate…out of place…unsuitable…tasteless…tactless…inapt…
We are defined by what comes out of our mouth; we are defined by how we behave; and, we are defined by how we clothe our body. Each case makes a clear statement about who we are and what we communicate.
Daily, whether it’s with a group of people or on social networks, we see and hear things in others that are distasteful and/or inappropriate and we’re quick to make a mental judgment or an assessment. By the same token, we fail to see our blind spots, preventing self-awareness – our visual field is obstructed, making it invisible to us, but obvious to everyone else.
For example . . .
Our Mouth . . . No matter how tempting, it’s not OK to blather and/or make negative statements or even pass on tidbits of info about someone behind their back. If someone speaks ill of others to you, they’ll speak ill of you to others behind your back. Let’s not forget who we represent here. Love does not harshly condemn, love does not expose faults and love does not tear down – I Peter 4:8. Love covers!
Our Behavior . . . Blind spots (and we all have them) can become a by-product of those who exercise their talent and gift on a regular basis, especially if they’ve had a history of accolades, kudos, and achievements. It’s one thing to have self-confidence, but quite another to overrate or elevate oneself – one must beware of drowning in lake “me”. In such cases, humility may not even have the chance to become a default position. Jesus made it so clear that the greatest ones are to be servants to others – uplift and encourage – promote and celebrate them. Our Savior became a servant and washed the feet of His disciples. The “Body” must not allow itself to get out of joint or it will be a painful journey. Love serves!
Our Dress . . .When Satan took over the lease on planet earth, historically the fashion-world became marketed to women – but, particularly the younger women today. Who are we trying to attract? Who are we trying to please? Whether we’re young, mature or well-seasoned, we are obliged to be objective about our appearance and make good judgments by asking, “Am I representative of a woman of discretion?” God loves beauty, vivid color, silver and gold, and bling – look at His creation or just read about Heaven in Revelation 21 – He uses twelve different precious stones just in the foundation of the New Jerusalem alone. That tells us He’s not so much into promoting drab, dowdy, old-fashioned, or legalistic ideas here. It simply means that if we are to love others as we love ourselves, then we are to equally treat our bodies with honor, integrity, and respect. Love honors!
Discretion (good judgment) is marked by showing prudence
(good sense), modesty (appropriate & in good taste),
as well as wise self-restraint in speech … behavior … and dress.
