Blindfolds

Flannery O'Connor wrote a story of a travelling salesman. This salesman was no ordinary salesman, he sold Bibles. He was a Christian and typified the title of the story, Good Country People. One day the salesman, Pointer, arrived at the door of a girl. This girl, like the salesman, was no ordinary girl. Her name was Hulga and she was a graduate with a degree in philosophy. Hulga had a prosthetic leg that attached itself to her knee. She was also an atheist. At one point in the book she declares, "We are all damned...but some of us have taken off our blindfolds and see that there's nothing to see. It's a kind of salvation." Pretty soon she finds herself having to remove her own blindfolds. The salesman and supposed Christian was really no such thing. Before long he had her in difficult situation and after taking advantage of her steals her fake leg and leaves her stranded.

It is true that without Christ, our Saviour, we cannot see. It is almost as if we were blindfolded. But sometimes we are also blind to the intentions of others. Some people like Pointer disguise themselves as good people but want only to rob us. Being too trusting is blinding. On the other hand to not trust anyone is equally blinding. Hulga thought herself so high and mighty that her salvation was in her clear perception of the world around her. Unfortunately that was not the case. Once Pointer removed her blindfold of him she was not saved. The removal of blindfolds is not always a salvation producing response.

It is important to beware of what you are blind to but it is also important to beware of what you are aware of.