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“Certainty That Blinds” - Wednesday, March 18, 2025

Scripture Reading: John 9:24–34

The religious experts in this passage aren’t stupid people. They’re educated, respected, and genuinely committed to their faith. But they keep saying “we know” — and with every repetition, they miss something more obvious than what came before. They know this man is a sinner. They know God spoke to Moses. They know where a true teacher of God would come from. The problem isn’t that they’re wrong about everything. It’s that their certainty has become a wall.

There’s a particular kind of blindness that comes from being very sure you’re right. It tends to show up in people who have thought deeply about something, who have a coherent worldview and aren’t easily rattled. The certainty is often earned. But at some point it stops being a foundation and starts being a filter — only letting in information that confirms what’s already believed, shutting out everything that doesn’t fit.

Meanwhile, the man who was actually blind keeps getting clearer with every exchange. He doesn’t have credentials. He doesn’t know the rules. He just knows what happened to him: “I was blind, and now I see.” The simplest, most direct testimony in the room comes from the person with the least status. That’s worth sitting with.

The invitation here isn’t to abandon what you believe. It’s to hold it with enough openness to notice when your certainty is making you less curious, less compassionate, less able to see what’s actually in front of you. “We know” can be a gift. It can also be a cage. The difference is whether it still leaves room for what you haven’t figured out yet.

Reflection:  Is there an area of your life — a relationship, a point of view, a belief about someone — where your certainty might be preventing you from seeing something true?

Action Step:  In one conversation today, practice saying “I might be missing something here” or “Help me understand your perspective” — and actually mean it.

Prayer:  God, give us the humility to hold our certainties loosely enough that we can still be surprised by you. Keep us curious. Keep us open. And keep calling us toward what we haven’t seen yet. Amen.