Taking Off The Blinders

My grandfather grew up in an era of transition when our country was moving from the horse and buggy to the automobile as its major form of transportation. He would relate to me stories of how he had to “hitch” the horse to the buggy in order to go to town and of seeing the first car to drive down the street of his hometown. On occasion there was added excitement when a horse, unaccustomed to the presence of an automobile, would become frightened and uncontrollable when the noise of a passing car startled it. Granddad said that in order to try to keep that from happening they would put blinders on the horse so that his field of vision was reduced to just what he could see directly in front of him. Whether it was effective or not I don’t know, but it seems that there are times when we adopt a similar tactic when there is something in our lives we want to ignore or avoid. An unpleasant co-worker, a beggar on the street, an obnoxious neighbor or maybe just an inconvenient interruption to our schedule. Things like these seem to prompt us to pull out our mental (or spiritual) “blinders,” and just move forward following our own agenda while avoiding the unwanted encounter.

But “encounters” with the lives of others is the very substance of relationship, and offer a sense of purpose in our lives. Without them we are reduced to an existence of self-focus and self-indulgence which leads to virtual isolation even in the presence of others – all because we put on our “blinders!” Taking off the blinders (by following Jesus) and being a citizen of His Kingdom always urges us to remove those blinders and become engaged – truly engaged – in the lives of others that we meet. Building relationship and opening our hearts to the presence and needs of others allows the Spirit of the Lord to work through us, exposing us to the life He brings as we benefit from the flow of God’s goodness and mercy in our daily lives. Removing the blinders helps keep us alive and fills our life with real meaning and purpose!

How exciting to be His people,

Pastor David Vanderpool