(ThyBlackMan.com) It takes courage to be an American. Whenever the entire world said that something cannot be done, Americans simply smiled and rolled up their sleeves with a steadfast resolve which non-verbally screamed: “Oh, yeah? Watch me work.” When wrongdoing took place before our eyes or within range of our ears, we immediately stood and declared “This is wrong” even as we did whatever was necessary to make things right. In America, we fed those who were hungry… we gave voice to the voiceless… we defended those who were at risk within our society.
It used to be all about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, right? These noble aims were as American as Mom, baseball, and apple pie. Do you remember when the United States of America was, well, a lot more united? I remember those days quite fondly. Alas, things have changed.
Lady Justice isn’t the only one who is blind in America these days. Spiritual blindness here in America isn’t just an epidemic – it’s a pandemic; and the virulence is only growing.
My recent Op-Ed piece “Love Your Enemies” set off a virtual firestorm in and around my hometown. How could an article about the joy which abounds by loving everyone – especially your enemies – somehow become my most polarizing entry by a country mile? I didn’t realize so many folks dressed up as haters for Halloween.
The Holy Bible is filled with examples of individuals and nations who forfeited their potential for greatness because they chose to hate rather than love. They chose to engage in battle rather than negotiate for peace. They settled for the lowest common denominator rather than live up to heavenly attributes. History itself is a landscape littered with the debris of once-prosperous civilizations which fell prey to spiritual blindness.
Spiritual blindness is an adverse condition. This particular type of blindness isn’t just the inability to see with your eyes. It’s manifested when you cannot see with your heart, your mind, or your spirit. Those who spiritually blind cannot see, cannot hear, cannot speak, cannot touch, and cannot feel things which are righteous or based in love or positive. Their spirit of self-sacrifice is quickly replace by an attitude of self-interest. They become consumed by the pursuit of what’s best for me and mine over you and thine.
Think about your workplace this time of year. All it takes is one person with flulike symptoms to sneeze once without covering to potentially spread the flu to everyone in your building. Like a disease, spiritual blindness spreads from person to person, from group to group, from institution to institution. Spiritual blindness can infect your home, your friendships, and your relationships. It can compromise your fellowship, your stewardship, and even your scholarship. Spirit blindness sets forth the logic that someone who advocates for love in a speech or in a column deserves a barrage of hateful, vitriolic language.
Political parties don’t have a monopoly on spiritual blindness. This malady is also permeating cable channels on television. It’s interwoven in many songs played on the radio, articles you read in newspapers and magazines and on the internet. Down is up. Left is right. Bad is good. Lies are true.
Have we lost sight that spiritual blindness serves as the fertile soil for the toxic seeds of racism, ageism, gender bias, and every sort of discrimination to grow? Bad seeds yield bad crops. An individual cannot actively cheer for any President of the United States to fail while claiming to be patriotic. One cannot acknowledge that America has been a nation of immigrants from its inception while working to deny a legal path to citizenship for 11 undocumented immigrants. Only the blind would attempt to do either.
America used to lead the world. Now, we are the world. We are the children. Where is our vision? Whatever became of our courage?
Lady Justice – or the angel of justice – is blind by design. Her symbol is so powerful because she represents impartiality. She is blind because she offers the promise of justice for everyone who stands in a courtroom whether they’re rich or poor, young or old, powerful or powerless, famous or obscure, Black or White.
She is spiritually wise; and her vision extends far beyond eyesight. Proverbs 29:18 of the good book says: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Amen. We’re Americans. It’s up to every single one of us to have vision. We can choose to be spiritually blind – or we can choose to truly see. It takes courage to be a friend. A real friend tells you what you need to hear instead of only what you want to hear. As your friend, I’m asking you to open your eyes. Please.
Staff Writer; Arthur L. Jones, III
This Elder can be contacted at; Arthur@ThyBlackMan.com.
True writing I can only think about and refer to scripture. II Corinthians 7:14
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”. I believed it sums up what’s wrong.
yes, the bible has a lot about countries who did not show love, it also shows that those
write that they lost their ways because the failed to follow the laws of God and his way. We as a nation no matter are race, gender have lost our way and need to seek God and stop believing that we have the answers
i ask 1 question how one say they are christains and storm the capital
Great article, history must always be seen in the context of the period it is going through… America has made a lot of mistakes no doubt … Yet Salvation history teaches us God is always teaching us and is very near even if He seems far away and a noted we must get back to Him… One way to do that is to stop the killing of babies in the womb, which there are more African American babies killed in the womb than any other race… All life is sacred and a gift from God and the African American baby in the womb must be saved if we are going to save America…
This is the very example of dissonance the article is trying to explain.
The only ethnicity that is name checked is African Americans, I’m very certain that abortion in this country is not restricted to African Americans, but name checking and blaming a particular race fully exemplifies the spiritual blindness the Bible and the articles author are trying to highlight.
It is regrettable, but the Bible also speaks on what would be the outfall from these types of sins.
It says judgement starts at the house of God. And we need to come to our senses or feel the consequences of its full impact!
“America used to lead the world. Now, we are the world. We are the children. Where is our vision? Whatever became of our courage?”
Scary ….
James 4:4
King James Version
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
I think the people have a long way to go. I think this is beyond just the United States. It will be a long and hard journey but, one that needs to be taken. The longer the people wait, the more damage will be done. We should have learned that over the past ten years.
Thank you, Arthur! It is very encouraging to see more Christ-followers speaking the truth in love and focusing on what the New Testament writers focused on. The Godless media is highlighting a church that has lost its way – a church that is much like the one in Ephesus (Rev 2). Hang in there, bro! We need more people calling people to repent from turning away from “agape” love.
The thing that jumps out at me in America is all the “fear” language being used – by virtually everyone. The many so-called Christians on the extreme right are even more guilty of this than non-Christians. There is a major need for REVIVAL in our nation where those who are calling for Nationalism and making the USA a Christian nation need to read their Bible and see what Jesus and Paul had to say about living the Christian life. Let’s make the joy of the Kingdom apparent to those seekers who think that putting themselves first is the way to “happiness.”
A very courageous opinion piece, Arthur! Unfortunately, our country is now suffering the approbation of what this pandemic has done to American lives — It has turned us into a nation of hatemongers that are out to destroy what the founding fathers deemed our birthright.
The pandemic did not do it to us. In a sense America has always been a hypocritical nation. We espouse democracy across the globe when it suits us, and we support dictatorships when it suits us. The “bring me your poor, huddled masses” was never meant for all poor, huddled masses of humanity. The “all men are created equal” referred to all those we regarded as men. The civil rights movement has tried to make America live up to the words written on paper, but the reality is that those words were not meant for Black people. The hatred is now more open because many right-leaning politicians have given Americans, including white evangelicals, permission to hate openly. They have normalized hate. Buckle up, the worst is yet to come!
I am sorry that you think that to tell someone that they are hurting themselves is hate. God gave us the law to protect us from ourselves and to protect others from us.
Our problem is that we no longer know what is right or wrong and we don’t want anyone to tell us what is right or wrong. So we continue in blind ignorance.
Yes there is hypocrisy; what did Jesus say? “First take the beam out of your own eye and THEN you can take the splinter out of your brother’s eye”
We must learn decernment so that we can take and use the best and leave the worst behind. No entire Party or Race should be “labeled” as BAD.
We all have our faults but we must come together as a community; a country to protect ourselves from the real enemy. That enemy is NOT one your neighbor.
A great read for this topic. Please see “The Tao for Now” by Eugene F Bator III. It is thought provoking and guides one to be balanced in mind, body, spirit, and heart.
This article is a good description of what is going on in America and some other countries. I think it is fair to say that churches are adding to the problem. In their desire to make America a Christian nation, they are making America into an anti-Christian nation.