Follow the Leader

Even a GPS can lead us the wrong way. What we see on the news and read on the Internet isn’t always true. When we need direction, whom can we trust?
Learn from the leader’s mistakes.
Jesus said, “When the blind lead the blind, they both fall into the ditch.” Can the leader be blind? Yes, and not even know it. Therefore, as a follower, I must open my eyes, ask questions, and strive to know the true truth.
My dad once asked me to follow his good examples. “If you see anything bad in me,” he said, “please don’t copy that.” He was a bit naïve at times, thinking his friends would never mislead him. After he lost money in a “great opportunity,” I knew what not to copy. I ran from get-rich-quick schemes.
Beware the enchanting tune.
According to legend, a colorfully dressed musician arrived in the German town Hamlin. With his hypnotic tune, all the rats from the city followed him to their death in the river. But when the king refused to pay him as agreed, the pied piper led all the children away, never to be seen again.
More than seven hundred years later, people still follow the tunes that sound good, blind to the dangers that might lie ahead. Perhaps this explains why so many will do what Jesus predicted, following the broad road to destruction instead of the narrow road to life.
Whenever I hear what I want to hear, I need to be careful. Like Eve when she ate the forbidden fruit, I might be following some bad advice.
Looks can be deceiving.
The grass isn’t greener on the other side of the fence. It just looks that way. My dad used to say, “Never leave a tough situation when you’re frustrated and upset. Let it teach you an important lesson. Then, when you are calm and still want to leave, you can.”
So I let myself simmer in the skillet instead of leaping into the fire. The heat of the situation changed me, making me better. Otherwise, I would have run from the problem only to find out that the problem came with me—because the problem would have been me.
We can trust Jesus to lead us well.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” Jesus said. “Everyone who reaches the Father goes through me. Enter through the small gate. For many take the wide gate and broad road that lead to destruction. Only a few find the small gate and narrow road that lead to life.” — John 14:6; Matthew 7:13–14, The Discussion Bible