GOING BLIND

On March 28, 2013, on I-77 outside Galax, Virginia 95 cars were involved in a chain reaction crash in dense fog. Three people were killed and 25 injured. It is very dangerous to follow others who can’t see where they are going. They can lead you into a fatal crash.

Jesus warned about following blind leaders. “They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” (Matt 15:14 NKJV) The most treacherous are those who think they see. “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” (John 9:39 NLT)

How can we avoid blind leaders who think they see? Here are some of the signs to look for…

Hate causes blindness. “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness…. he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.” (1 John 2:9-11 NIV). Leaders who divide the country by stirring up hate with tactics such as class envy are blind guides who can’t see where they are going. Those who follow them will crash with them like that chain reaction in a dense fog.

Bribes cause blindness. “Never accept a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly.” (Deut 16:19-20 NLT) Bribery today is carried out by lobbyists and special interest groups who “wine and dine” leaders to get favorable rulings. Now I understand why there are so many irrational decisions coming from Washington D.C. Just one example among thousands – The Department of Education only allows only evolution to be taught in schools while the Environmental Protection Agency spends fifteen million to keep a rare spider from evolving into extinction. Money is turning wise men into blind fools.

Criticizing other’s faults causes blindness. The story of the blind leading others into the ditch is followed by the “speck and log” story. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” (Luke 6:41-42) The “log” of our own faults will block our vision until we take care of it first.

Not walking the talk causes blindness. “Who is as blind as my chosen people, the servant of the Lord? You see and recognize what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear with your ears, but you don’t really listen.” (Isa 42:20) The world tires of people telling others what to do without doing it themselves. The word is hypocrisy and it is a frustrating use of the double-standard.

Trivializing the important and emphasizing the trivial makes us blind. “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith… Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel! (Matt. 23:16, 23) This is a funny. It is like getting water from a filter and drinking it while eating spoiled meat.

Judging by surface appearance makes us blind. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.” ((Matt 23:25, 26 NLT) How wrong I have been judging people by appearance, and not looking at their hearts.

How can we get our sight back? By having the humility to listen, the wisdom to come to the light and filling our hearts with God’s love for everyone.