Who are the blind leaders?

Have you ever imagined a blind man leading other blind men? Or an illiterate trying to educate fellow illiterate? What do you think will happen to both of them? By the way, who is a blind leader? Where can we find such leaders? Can anything good come from a blind leader?

In today’s gospel (of Luke 6:39-45), our Lord Jesus Christ raised a fundamental question, “Can a blind man lead a blind man?” He used another question to answer the question: “Will they not both fall into a pit?” That is exactly what happens when a blind leader is in charge.

An illiterate can never educate a group of illiterates.

Blindness is a dreaded sickness. It is the worst thing that can happen to anyone. The Jews see blindness as a curse, a punishment for one’s sin.

That is why the disciples asked Jesus when they saw the man that was born blind in the gospel of John 9:2 “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” For them, blindness is the penalty one has to pay for his or her sin.

And though our Lord Jesus Christ corrected the wrong impression that not all blindness is a punishment for sin, however, blindness is not a good omen.

Nobody wants to be blind. Blind people suffer a lot. They cannot see the beauty in the world. They cannot even see dangers ahead of them. They cannot move around freely. They need people to lead them. A blind man cannot give what he does not have. Since they cannot lead themselves they can hardly lead others.

The worst thing that can happen to any nation or organisation is to have a blind leader. A blind leader does not necessarily mean someone without the physical sight.

A blind leader is a leader without vision or a clear agenda. We have such leaders in our society today. You find them in politics, in court, in Churches, Mosques and even at our higher institutions.

Imagine a situation where a whole University Vice Chancellor could not read what he recorded as a returning officer without a ruler; a situation where the former IGP could not even pronounce a simple vocabulary without the aid of a junior officer. Blind leaders? They are everywhere! By their fruits you shall know them.

A leader who does not know his subjects or followers is blind. Whereas our Lord Jesus Christ told His followers, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27-28) A blind leader does not know his flock. He does not even recognise their voices, especially when they are crying out for help. The worst leader is a leader that is insensitive to the needs and cry of his followers. Such leaders are not just blind, but are also heartless.

A blind leader is a leader without vision: The book of Proverbs 29:18 declares, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

A blind leader endangers the life of the people. He can easily lead the people into a pit and other destruction.

A blind leader is a foolish leader. A foolish leader is a leader without the fear of God, whereas “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

Unfortunately, we have so many blind and foolish leaders in our society today.

That is why we are indebted; always falling in and out of economic recession; hundreds of our people are dying without anybody being charged for their deaths.

Lives and properties are in danger due to blind leaders. Oh! May God deliver us from blind leaders and may He bless us with wise and visionary leaders, through Christ our Lord – Amen!