Under cover of night, completely
clothed in black, and armed to the teeth with high tech gadgets, a team of 4 slip out of a cargo van and creep
stealthily down an alley. Within minutes
they succeed in scaling a wall, cutting a large hole in a plate glass window
and disarming an elaborate alarm system.
They proceed to outmaneuver video
cameras and security personnel while snaking their way through dark hallways to the basement. Their
goal, of course, is to gain access to the well-endowed bank vault. Observers might be shocked to discover who put them up to this
crookery; their" boss" is none other than the bank president.
Why would a bank president pay
someone to do such a thing? To test the
security of their system. To be honest
about just how safe his customer's money is.
Risk assessment is a huge business.
Many people make a good, honest living trying to break into buildings,
hack into accounts or take advantage of systems. This industry serves governments and
businesses by finding their blind spots - because every company and every
government agency has blind spots.
People have blind spots too.
Everybody does. Some of us have addictions but can't admit
it. Many of us have bad habits that
don't look so bad from where we're sitting.
All of us have tainted attitudes, detrimental idiosyncrasies and
weaknesses that are hard to acknowledge without outside help. Everyone needs
someone to help them find their blind spots.
This is why world class athletes hire coaches and why great writers hire
great editors.
It may surprise many people to
discover that God is on our side and is interested in helping us with our blind
spots. Two and a half millennia ago a
poet recognized this truth and penned these prayers: "Open
my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. Keep me from lying to myself; give me the
privilege of knowing your instructions." (Psalm 119:18 &29 NLT)
Those not personally familiar
with the Bible, may have accepted the misguided viewpoint that the Bible is an
irrelevant, mysterious and intimidating book that is loaded with mythology and stifling
prohibitions. When, in fact, the Bible
is full of eternal principles and life-giving advice. It was inspired by God and intended to help
us with our blind spots. It is God's
gift to mankind. For thousands of years
millions of people, from many cultures, have truly embraced God's Word and
subsequently testified to its power and effectiveness in radically improving lives.
Here's a huge tip: don't just read the Bible - let it expose
your blind spots and then do something about those blinds spots. This requires a degree of honesty that many
people are unwilling to explore. A
contemporary of Jesus Christ put it like this: "But don’t just listen to
God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling
yourselves. For if you listen to the word and
don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and
forget what you look like. But
if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do
what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing
it." (James 1:22-25 NLT) Let God become your risk assessment advisor today,
because we all have blind spots.
# posted by John W. Hanson @ Friday, June 13, 2014