LOVE IS BLIND

PRACTICE: Recall a time when you were baffled by what a friend or acquaintance saw in someone else.

“Love is blind” is one of those idioms that we are likely to utter to someone or about someone who is describing the attributes of someone they love. The object of their eye is usually someone whom we may have deemed unworthy of praise, adoration and attention. By uttering the phrase, we are minimizing the ability of the person to see what we don’t see. We would rather they take the love blinders off. Then they would really see the person’s faults, frailties and failures, and realize that their affection may be misdirected.

Could it be that this is faulty thinking? Could it be that hate, not love, is blind? Whether it is directed toward an individual or group, hate closes one’s eyes to the another. Hate can cause one to be indifferent to the things that are praiseworthy in the other. Hate robs one of the desire to seek out the good if they took the time to explore. Hate distorts one’s ability to focus on the other because the hater is focused on their hate. To hate someone means that one denies themselves the opportunity to get close and personal to the object of their hate. Hate ultimately gives one permission to look at the other and see nothing that is of worth, noble, or excellent. Could it be that hate is the blinder?

Love (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH INFATUATION) lets one see the diamond in the rough. Love does not give up. Love wipes away indifference. Love draws the focus of one’s attention from self and places it on the other. Love makes one desire a level of intimacy where faults, frailties and failures are exposed. Love doesn’t want what is not present. Love always looks for places of beauty within the other. True love does not mean one is oblivious to imperfections. If that were not the case, then no one would be loved.

The lens of love provides a clearer and multifaceted picture of the other. The object of the love and affection is celebrated for their good and not so good. Love is not blind – it is the recognition that no one (group) is without rough curves, edges and a host of imperfections. Love opens one’s eyes to see fully beyond the surface.

1 Cor. 13:3

PONDER THIS THOUGHT---Love does not blind one to another’s imperfections and differences. It dictates loving despite them.