They're not stupid, they're blind!

In 2 Corinthians Paul talks about how the god of this age has blinded the hearts of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel.

Think about being blind.  Not being able to see.  I don't know if you have ever been in absolute darkness, its pretty scary.  You can't even see your hand in front of your face, that's how dark it is.

The Bible uses the analogy that sin is like blindness.  Paul picks up on this analogy and takes it a step further stating that the god of this age has blinded the hearts of unbelievers.

So how do you help a blind man see?  How do we as Christians help unbelievers who have been blinded by sin and the god of this age see the gospel.

Let me start by stating what we don't do!!

We don't YELL at the blind.  Yelling at them won't help them see.  Unbeleivers are not stupid, they are blind.  It drives me crazy when I see churches and "Christians" yelling, boycotting, picketing, whatever, in hopes that their demonstration will help these non-christians "GET IT"

If I'm a blind person trying to cross a busy street, I don't need you to bark at me orders in hopes that I will make it across the street.  I need you to come and LEAD ME and HELP ME!!  When we are blinded by sin or the god of this age, the sin blinds us so that we don't see clearly, or know God rightly, or for that matter even see ourselvesfor who we really are. 

So what do we do?

Paul gives us a hint in the next verse.  We don't preach ourselves, we preach Jesus Christ as Lord, and us as your servants.

We preach Jesus and let Jesus open their eyes.  For some reason we think that we can be the Holy Spirit and open peoples eyes to the Gospel, that's the role of the Holy Spirit.  We preach the Gospel, we share the Gospel, but I think we do that from the position of a servant.  We serve PEOPLE!!  We LOVE people!!  In doing so we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us as we pray that God will open the eyes of the blind.  Jesus said the world will know you are my disciples by the way you love.  If the spiritual darkness of this world is going to be lifted we must first start by how we love and serve others. 

When was the last time you served someone, espeically an unbeleiver, not expecting anything in return?  When was the last time you opened your house up and had a nonChristian family over for supper?  Or, let me ask this one, do you even know any unbelievers?

Remember, unbelievers are not stupid, they are blind.  So may you serve, may you love, and in doing so may you preach, not yourself, but the GOSPEL!!