“If a Blind
Man Leads a Blind Man” by Melanie Rigney (@melanierigney)
Thus, says the LORD: See! I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents; on
his dwellings I will have compassion; A city shall be rebuilt upon its own
ruins, a citadel restored where it should be. From them will come praise, the
sound of people rejoicing. I will increase them, and they will not decrease, I
will glorify them, they will not be insignificant. His children shall be as of
old; his assembly shall stand firm in my presence; I will punish all his
oppressors. His leader shall be one of his own, and his ruler shall emerge
from his ranks. He shall approach me when I summon him; Why else would he dare
approach me? —oracle of the LORD. You shall be my
people, and I will be your God. (Jeremiah 30:18-22)
The Lord will build up Zion
again, and appear in all his glory. (Psalm 102:17)
He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand.
It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man, but what comes out of
the mouth is what defiles one.” Then his disciples approached and said to him, “Do
you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He
said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be
uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man
leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:10:14)
Piety
Jesus, let me not be led astray by
those who don’t need You to lead the way.
Study
I’m reading Stalin: The Court of
the Red Tsar, which explains the Soviet ruler’s rise and viselike grip by
illuming the sycophants around him—some downright evil, some not, all of whom
were ready to take out the long knives on anyone they perceived threatened
their access to or standing with Stalin. You might say it was a case of evil
leading or fomenting evil, blind to anything but how to keep favor, at least
for the moment, with Stalin even if that meant turning on each other, friends,
and family members. And people followed, and followed, and followed.
Stalin’s been dead for nearly
seventy years, but I’m not so sure the world and human nature are that much
different. We all have our blind spots. Some of us want power; others,
visibility; others, money; still others, a bevy of admiring friends and
coworkers. But the thing is, someone always has more power, more money, more
friends, a bigger house or car. Taking it away from them, at which those around
Stalin excelled, provides momentary satisfaction. But after that moment, we go
back to eyeing those who have more—and those who threaten what we do have. When
we follow those who promise to fulfill all those holes, we are blind to the
fact that they are just as blind as we are.
Someone once told me that Stalin,
who declared himself an atheist during his five years in a pre-Russian
Revolution seminary, just before he breathed his last looked upward and
clenched his fist at God. I like to think at that moment, he realized how
extraordinarily blind he had been, convincing himself and so many others that
he, not God, had all the power.
And I pray that when I die, I will
reach out an open hand to the True Leader—not a fear clenched in fear or anger
because I finally see my blindness.
Action
Open your eyes, hands, and soul to
God.
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