Self-Righteous Blind Spots

Common Sense Commentary:

Some people's moral standards seem to allow them to steal from a stranger but not from a friend. They may lie without conscience when nobody around knows they are lying, but avoid it where the truth is known.

Good people often overlook or smile at naughtiness in their little angel but severely condemn the same thing done by the little devil next door.

You may have known the woman who screamed at her husband, "Don't you dare lift your voice to me".

Then there was the father who rebuked his son ... "I've told you a million times do not exaggerate."

Let's not forget the drunk who whipped his son for smoking a cigarette.

The truth is that a thief is a thief and a liar is a liar 24 hours a day. If he doesn't steal, it's because he fears getting caught or hasn't the opportunity. If he doesn't lie, it's because it isn't safe or it isn't to his advantage at the moment.

A wise old gentleman once told me when I was young, "If a man will steal for you, he will steal from you, and
if he will lie for you, he will lie to you. I have found that to be absolutely true.

When Jesus encountered these type people, he said they were "blind leaders of the blind." Mt.15:14. In such cases, the person seldom sees his words or actions as self-righteous or hypocritical. Most people have some such blind spots. Human nature seems to be quite ready to justify personal sins while condemning the sins of others. The double standard is every bit as common as the single standard ... if not more so.

Every prison has a pecking order. Thieves, pimps, narcotics pushers, kidnappers and murderers are all to be expected and accepted. You could be a mass murderer who ate his victims and find a place up with the top guys but sexual crimes are the most hated ... except there in the prison ... inmate on inmate ... that seems to be OK if you can get away with it and were not a sex offender on the outside.

The police drove up to a crack house in the ghetto in the middle of a cuss fight. They asked one of the young women what the problem was. "Dat ho done sweet talk my man" she said. "Where is your man"? they asked. "He done gone out to rob somebody" she said. Like he had gone to the mini-market for a loaf of bread. As if he was just on the job making a living but "sweet talkin her man" was unforgivable.

The most extreme cases of such hypocrisy were condemned by Jesus in Mat.23:27, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye are like unto (whitewashed graves), which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but are full of dead men's bones, and of all (rottenness)." Hypocrisy was the sin most severely dealt with by Jesus.

There are far more examples of self-righteous blind spots than anyone can possibly see. Permit me to mention just three that are so well camouflaged they are almost invisible but are quite common.....

The first may be identified by it's unique double mindedness. It is expressed by the habitual offender whose attitude toward his oft offended wife is, "I'll forgive you of anything but unforgiveness."

The second is employed by the idealistic, pacifist type who says to his non-conformist comrades, who all look alike, "We will tolerate anything but intolerance by all those slaves to the clock hypocrites wearing suits, and we won't tolerate their intolerance of us.

The third is what I call the hate hate syndrome. This one is as elusive as a zebra standing by a white picket fence. It is seen in the eyes and facial expression of those who march and demonstrate for love, truth and equality. It says, in it's self-righteous fervency for fairness, "I hate those hypocrites who hate people".

Pass it on. RB