Blind and Deaf By Choice

Though seeing many things, you do not obey. Though [his] ears are open, he does not listen. - Isaiah 42:20

For many years my wife told me that I had a hearing problem, that I only hear what I want to hear!

Huh?

God said the same thing about the people of Israel, and that they were not only deaf by choice, but also blind. Their eyes and ears were open, but not to their Creator.

It seems that a lot of church-attenders are suffering the same malady. They are blind and deaf by choice. They see a lot of things (billions without access to the Gospel, a rising tide of human need, God at work among the nations) and they even hear His Word (many Sundays in padded seats), but nothing really seems to change. We give less, go less, and ultimately do less.

If God has given us good spiritual eyes and ears, then why do we find it so difficult to see or hear Him?

I always believed in God and Christ, but I was in rebellion - trying to make my relationship with God fit into my life instead of making my life fit in with Him. I was stubborn. - Scott Stapp (Creed)