Blind Guides

Blind guides. That’s what Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees, the teachers who had unquestioned authority over the spiritual lives of the Jewish people. I thought of this as I contemplated who has unquestioned authority over me. One who does is Jane, the disembodied voice of my GPS app. At least she did, but after yesterday I’m rethinking it. As we drove to Branson, Missouri, Jane directed us to leave the main road and travel for a hundred miles down a narrow state road, then to increasingly narrower and windier roads. It was at County Road 551 that I should have got a clue. The conversation in my head went something like this, “Did that sign say, ‘Road Closed Under Water?’ It’s probably an old sign. Jane said to turn here.” I continued following Jane’s leading past two more road signs and a stopped car with its flashers on. By this time, it was pitch black with a cloud cover that blocked even the light of the moon and stars. Suddenly the pavement ended in what appeared in my headlights to be a lake. I made a tight turn around on that narrow road and headed back the way I had come, while Jane continued to shout at me, “Make a U-turn, make a U-turn.” As I retreated, the fog rolled in like a metaphor for blindness.

I confessed my lostness to the keeper of a small backwoods convenience store, who explained that recent rains had washed out every path on Jane’s route list. Should I obey the advice of this kind, local woman over the insistent authority of Jane? Of course, I should! Jane was fired on the spot. As I left, the woman warned me, “Be careful out there. The deer will be running this time of year.”

Who has unquestioned authority in your world? Teachers? Pastors? Political leaders? Celebrities? Authors? News reporters? Have you ever wondered why starring in a movie qualifies someone to tell you who to vote for, or why playing football gives them the ability to advise you on home and auto insurance?
In his first letter to Timothy, Paul tells him to choose leaders who have “a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” He wrote, “Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.” (1 Timothy 1:5-7) Only God is right about everything. All other authority should be questioned.