Blind Guides

Luke 6:39 (ESV)  39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
I'm no John Maxwell or Peter Drucker, but as I was reading Matthew yesterday I was struck by a simple but profound leadership principle: Leaders need to be able to see.
In Jesus day, the Pharisees were considered the spiritual elite and people were tripping over themselves to hear and emulate these supposed spiritual gurus. Jesus devoted several of his sermons and parables to destroying the myth that these men were worth following. Why? They were blind. They had no idea which direction to go, but had fooled the people (and themselves) into thinking otherwise.
If you are to be a successful leader in any walk of life, you must have vision. To be a spiritual leader requires that you know what it is that God wants. To charge forward and say to those behind you, "Come on! Follow me!" without direction is foolish and could have disastrous consequences. Jesus said that if a blind man comes along to guide another blind man on the road, they will both wind up in the ditch. If a spiritual leader does not understand what scripture teaches about the various circumstances he finds himself in, he will be that blind leader.
If you are going to lead your family, your church or your friends into a deeper relationship with God, get a head start on them. Go deeper yourself first, then you'll know where you're going when it's time to take others along.