Blind Guide - Martin Wiles

They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch. Matthew 15:4 NLT

He stared at her until she got up and exited the building.

Spring had arrived, and it was time for our church to have one of its two annual revivals. This year, we had decided to have only one and to get a full-time evangelist. 

A lady in our church had recently begun a van ministry. Each Sunday, she faithfully picked up kids from the neighborhood and brought them to church. We never saw any of their parents—until one night during our revival.

A young mother with a small child walked in and took her place near the front. Her young baby was restless, the preacher was preaching passionately, and the mother was trying to quiet her baby. I saw irritation wash over the revivalist’s face as the mother continued to sit and listen while her baby whimpered.

Then it happened. He stopped preaching and gave her the “Aren’t you going to leave with that crying child” stare. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, she did. We never saw her or her child again. A potential believer was lost, and I was livid. 

I suppose the evangelist believed in the old adage that “children should be seen and not heard.” I wondered where he found that in the Bible, and I also wondered if he ever felt any shame over running off someone who needed—and wanted--to hear the gospel.

Those whom Jesus referred to as blind guides were not dastardly criminals, but the religious leaders. Ironic that He would call them that, but they were leading people astray with their traditions and added interpretations to God’s law. Jesus corrected them with scathing words.

Traditions can be good or bad, but even the good ones become bad when I elevate them to the same level as God’s Word and then make others feel guilty if they don’t obey them as I do. Doing this makes me and anyone else a blind guide, and our destiny is falling into a ditch. My hypocritical actions will lead others further from God, not closer to Him.

God wants us to disseminate His truth, not the interpretations or traditions we’ve developed to go along with it. His truth—and His truth alone--sets people free.

Don’t let your traditions or personal convictions hinder you from delivering God’s simple truth to others.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for Your truth. May we be faithful deliverers of it, with nothing added. 

Tweet: Are your traditions keeping others from God?

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