20. Leadership Qualities

Dear Readers,

Thank you for being faithful and for asking for more blog posts! I have had some changes in my life that have kept me from writing for more than a month. A cancer diagnosis in October made me rethink many things in my life. I have lots of new routines and appointments that have hindered me. But I have been pondering a question of Jesus in particular. It wasn’t until this morning that I figured out how to approach this question. Praise be to God, that He always answers when we ask Him. It might take a month or so for the answer to come, but He is faithful if you are persistent. I hope you enjoy this post and leave me your thoughts in the comment section. Thank you for your patience. I appreciate your prayers. God is faithful.

Luke 6:39-40 And He spake a parable unto them, “Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.”

Jesus answers His own question here. But it still needs our inquiring as to why He said it. He was of course referring to the Pharisees, and others that chose to lead the people. He is referring to their hearts. What makes them think they can lead others? What drives them to do this? We can see that PRIDE, is at the bottom of this. Greed, power-hungry and political gains too, along with arrogance are the motivators in this group. Jesus tells them they are blind because they think they can see. John 9:39-41 And Jesus said, “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.” And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said unto them, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, ‘We see;’ therefore your sin remaineth.”

If someone is ignorant, they have no right to teach or lead another in any thing. If they do lead another, they will both have consequences to pay. If you choose to follow someone who knows the same or less than you do, then you will have a fool for a master. Your outcome will be failure. And you will have no one to blame but yourself for your choices.

If you believe you have something to share with someone else but don’t have the wisdom, the experience and the love to do this, then you will hurt them and yourself in the doing of the project. That person will not be bettered in any way. They will be exactly where you end up: in a pit.

You cannot push, pull, or lead someone successfully to a place you have never been yourself.

Here Jesus points out that those who think they see, are the blind ones. If you think you can show someone the way, maybe you have pride in your heart. Ponder it. Ask God if it is so. But if you love from a pure heart, there’s a difference. 1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity (love) out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: from which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, or whereof they affirm.

Our motives are everything. Once we get things clear in our heart, then and only then, are we able to lead others.

Then we see a beautiful example of two blind men finding their way to Jesus. They were both blind, yet they found Jesus. How is that? Let’s look at the scripture. Matthew 9:27-31 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying, and saying, “Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.” And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus saith unto them, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” They said unto Him, “Yea, Lord.” Then touched He their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it unto you.” And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straightly charged them, saying, “See that no man know it.” But they, when they were departed, spread abroad His fame in all that country.

Why were these blind men able to find something they were looking for and not fall into a pit? Let’s look at their heart motivations. They were both blind, yet they decided to find Jesus together. Was one of them trying to lead the other? It seems they were working together. Jesus might have been easy to find because of the crowds around Him, but this was afterward, when He made His way to a house to rest. How did they find Him? We are not told specifics, but it seems that they were earnestly looking for Jesus. There was no Pride, greed, or arrogance in leading, but in helping one another get what they both wanted: an encounter with Jesus! They came humbly when they found Him. He asked them if they believed He could heal them. They said yes and Jesus was moved by their faith in Him. He opened their eyes according to their faith.

Wow! So if we are blind, but are loving another out of a pure heart, helping them to get to Jesus, we can possibly lead someone to Him! That is beautiful!

“Can the blind lead the blind?” The answer is no and yes. It is out of your heart motivation that this question can get answered.

Are you blind? Are you able to lead another person in this life? What needs to change in your heart before you can help others?

God bless you as you ponder these questions.

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