June 30, 2026

Matthew 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

“There are none so blind as those who will not see.” This is an ancient proverb that may have originated from the thought found in the words of Jeremiah. This Old Testament prophet said, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: (Jeremiah 5:21). 

Jesus said that if those who cannot, or will not, see attempt to lead others who likewise do not see their ultimate destination is the ditch. The next time you are driving down a state highway or a national interstate try to notice things in the ditch next to the road.  Mostly it will be trash, broken merchandise that has fallen into the roadway, corpses of animals that have been hit by various vehicles, weeds, and the like. Other than wild flowers there is not much of value in the roadside

ditch. 

Leaders therefore do not have the luxury of being “…so blind as those who will not see.” They must see.  Being on the lookout for market trends, competitor strategies, employee issues, financial conditions, expense controls, production concerns and a million other business related matters is the business of business managers. 

Another old proverb, one taken straight from the Bible is found in Proverbs 27:23. Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. This necessitates an absence of blindness on the part of managers.  Sadly, many managers fail to see, or choose not to see, problems that need to be addressed.  Therefore, before long, they fall into a ditch. 

I used to work for a nationwide package delivery company and one of their safety slogans was “See the BIG picture”.  It reminded the drivers and line workers alike to see on purpose.  A deer hunter will sit in a deer blind for hours on end waiting for the scene they are looking at to change.  Sometimes they become so mesmerized by the stillness of what they are looking at that it takes a while before they actually notice the movement of game into their line of sight.  Other times the slightest movement will catch their eye.  What’s the difference?  Alertness!

Sometimes when walking through our church buildings with people who have never been in our church building before I ask them to point out to me anything that is dirty, unattractive, or otherwise not visually pleasing.  When I first ask them to do this I always get reluctance on their part.  No one wants to criticize the building to the pastor, or point out something that needs attention; they want to be nice and accommodating.  When asking this I always have to take time to tell them that they have fresh eyes, they are seeing without a veil of familiarity and that they are doing me a wonderful service.  When I walk through our buildings I am familiar with things to the point that I don’t always see trouble areas.  It’s just a way for me to guard against seeing but not seeing. 

No matter how it is done, leaders of businesses must see.  If not, they will become the blind leading the blind and we know where they will end up; in the ditch.  Once in the ditch the way out is by seeing the way out.  So, in the ditch, or out of the ditch, make sure to see, force yourself to see by staying alert.

Dr. William Howe