On the Oregon coast we are bombarded with signs warning us of sneaker waves.  I know of a young lady who died as a result of one of these waves sneaking up on her unexpectedly and carrying her out to sea.   Even though we are warned of these dangerous waves, not many of us watch out for them.  I mean, really, what do you look for on a surf that is roaring all the time and each wave seems much like the last one?

There is an analogy here.  Just when we get comfortable with the seascape, we become careless and the wave comes and strikes.   I suppose most survive but some don’t.  It struck me that each of us probably has a sneaker wave waiting to overcome us.

Alexander Strauch in his book on Biblical Eldership refers to all of us having a “fatal flaw”  and quotes CS Lewis:

And you see, looking back, how all the plans you have ever made always have shipwrecked on that fatal flaw – on “X’s” incurable jealousy, or laziness, or touchiness, or muddle-headedness, or bossiness, or ill temper, or changeableness…

This is the next great step in wisdom – to realize that you also are just that sort of person.  You also have a fatal flaw in your character.  All the hopes and plans of others have again and again shipwrecked on your character just as your hopes and plans have shipwrecked on theirs.

It is no good passing this over with some vague, general admission such as “Of course, I know I have my faults.”  it is something which gives the other just that same feeling of despair which their flaws give you.  And it is almost certainly something you don’t know about – like what the advertisements call “halotosis” which everyone notices except the person who has it.

But why, you ask, don’t the others tell me? Believe me, they have tried to tell you over and over again, and you just couldn’t  “take it.”  Perhaps a good deal of what you call their “nagging” or “bad temper’ or ‘queerness” are just their attempts to make you see the truth.  And even the faults you do know you don’t know fully.

Strauch continues…. These fatal flaws or blind spots distort your judgment. The deceive us. They can even destroy us.    This is particularly true of multi-talented, charismatic leaders.  Blind to their own flaws and extreme views, some talented leaders have destroyed themselves because they had no peers to confront and balance them and, in fact, wanted none.

Granted, this is written in the context of eldership and most of us are not charismatic leaders.  And granted,  as a description of our blind spot, fatal flaw may be a little strong, and just like the sneaker wave, it may  not be fatal to everyone.. But I believe the point is still valid.

I take a couple points from this

1.  It is easy to see blind spots in others and be blind or deny our own

2.  It is human nature to discount our own flaws while magnifying those of others

3.  It is great wisdom to hear confrontation, exhortation, or rebuke.

4.  There is great exposure to danger in continuing in the self-deceiving belief that we have no flaws.

What is also inferred is how important accountability is.   I will write on this in part 2 and 3.