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John 14:1 (NLT) “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.” Acts 20:29-30 “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” You may already know, I am writing a series of essays about what it means, and what it takes, to be a trustworthy guide for others. My jumping off point was an experience I had with our amazing tour guides on a trip to the Galapagos Islands. (See post entitled "Do You Trust Me?") Jonathon and Andres, our expedition leaders, exemplified so many Christ-like traits during the ten days we were in their care. Attentive to the needs of all travelers, effectively preparing us for each day’s adventures. Teaching the ‘whats’ and the ‘hows’, setting safe boundaries, attuned to their environment to open our eyes to new sights and wonders. SO many details, carried out so naturally. So seamlessly. It all happened exactly as they said it would. And the experience was transformational. Oh, that all of our ‘guides’ in life could be as authentic as Jonathon and Andres. And oh, that I can become someone who ultimately will be known as a trustworthy, authentic guide for others. We can recognize a counterfeit by becoming experts on the authentic, which I hope we will accomplish. We can also be aware of red flags that can alert us to our own naivete, as well as point out potential predators. Essay 2, therefore, is about warning signs of: The Bad Guy(d)s “The trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool.” Stephen King (READ THAT AGAIN) Those of us who are Baby-Boomers will remember the notorious Whitewater real estate and bank fraud investigation during 7 of the 8 years of President Bill Clinton’s administration (1994-2001). In a nutshell, the Clintons and their friends the McDougals were investigated for bank fraud committed in the years that Bill Clinton served as the governor of Arkansas. As a result of the investigation, fraud charges were filed on business leaders, political officials and others both in and outside of Arkansas. Many connected to the Clintons were convicted of felony fraud and served prison time, until pardoned in 2001. So what? Well. . . During the height of the investigation, my husband, Carl, and I (both Texans since birth) started dreaming about a future in Arkansas. "When the kids finish high school, maybe we can escape the concrete jungle of Dallas/ Ft. Worth . The “Natural State” and the beauty of the Arkansas Ozarks really showed us another way to “be.” We joke about how every time we visited Carl’s dad in Mountain Home, the first thing we did was nap—often nodding off in the middle of the first conversations with his folks upon arrival. And that was okay. This was a place to rest, to not hurry or feel obliged to do anything at all but enjoy being with family in a beautiful, peaceful, restful setting. So, around 1998, we decided to shop for real estate, something we could pay off by the time we were ready to make the move. We found a real estate office in the middle of our target area. The agent was laid back, friendly, seemed maybe a little skeptical that we were legit. But he listened to our thoughts and picked a couple of properties to check out. As we rode with him to the first property, the Whitewater circus came to my mind. So, I asked him, “Has the Whitewater scandal had any impact on real estate sales, or interests with all of that going on?” He answered slowly, “Noooo, not really.” End of discussion. We fell in love with 29 acres that fronted Arkansas Highway 14. The back property line touched the Buffalo National River property. (The Buffalo National River in Arkansas is my favorite place in the world!) We financed the purchase through a bank that partnered with the real estate firm. It would be paid for in 10 years. Easy peazy! Fast forward to 2001. Carl, who had a curious interest in the Clintons and their proclivity toward scandals, read an online article about the presidential pardons granted by President William Jefferson Clinton before he left office. Lo and behold, our sales agent turned out to be a convicted Whitewater felon, pardoned on January 20, 2001. He had colluded in loan fraud. (Justice.gov) And we had been told by our agent that even if one payment was late, our property could be repossessed by the financing entity. Yikes! What if??? Thankfully, Carl made that discovery, and we hastened to action. We paid off our balance right away and secured the deed to the property. Had we been aware of the back story to begin with, that real estate office would not have been the pick for us. Why did I tell you this story? Well, this would be an example of trusting blindly. Nice guy. Knows his business. Little pressure. But did he have our best interests in mind??? No reason to think he wanted to scam us. But had we known. . . Thieves, Robbers and Blind Guy(d)s John 10:8- All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. . . . The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. Matthew 15:13-14 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.” Have you ever fallen into a ditch? I could tell you another story about the time some mean kids dug a hole in the day care playground, filled it with water, covered it with floating leaves to hide the hole, then tricked me into walking over/into it. But we will keep moving on. Blind trust. In Matthew 15, Jesus referred to our enemies as plants “not planted by my heavenly Father” and as “blind guides” who should be completely ignored to avoid life’s ditches. In his commentary on Matthew, John McArthur notes that “ignore them” could also be translated “Keep away from them and have nothing to do with them.” Hmmm. Nothing? How do I avoid them all together? Some are more obvious than others—they just feel dangerous. Others, not so much. In the old days (pre-internet) we could avoid lots of danger just by staying out of the seedy part of town. “Stranger danger,” we learned from our parents and teachers. Today, technology has opened the world up to daily hazards and scammers. We WILL encounter these ‘opportunities’. They SOUND good, especially since the algorithms target our interests. Wisdom says, “pause before you proceed.” An ‘if-it-looks-like-a-duck’ kind of pause. THEN, click on ‘X’ (‘cause it’s a duck). I am embarrassed to say I have NOT always used wisdom. I’ve NOT X’d out on several weight-loss app subscriptions, personality type tests, clothing ‘deals’ and more. And the consequence, at the least, too much time spent trying to cut my losses and cancel before the trial period is over and the big money is charged to my credit card. One such foolish mishap happened about the time Christmas ads started to appear last year. A major clothing designer/wholesaler posted an ad on Facebook with some unbelievable deals. “Closing out our business. Great deals on remaining stock.” Beautiful cardigans, maxi-dresses, over-lays and such, regularly priced over $100 were 90% off. 90% OFF! And supplies were going fast. The logo and images were professional and realistic. The links to click on took me to a realistic web site. I jumped in! And waited. And waited. No emails, no confirmation, no deliveries. Googling the retailer by name and the word ‘scam,’ the rest of the story came to light. All a lie. The company was alive and well and still quite pricey on everything. Other customers had posted warnings of the scammer. I felt very foolish and naïve. After all, I KNOW that if something seems too good to be true. . . I reported the scam to my credit card company and to Facebook. My credit card was credited for the amount of the bogus sale. Lesson learned? ?? Hopefully. Then there was the time (about 5 years ago) the traveling meat-sales guy had a surplus of meat on his truck and his boss would be mad if he didn’t sell it. “I’ll give you a great deal!” I Zelle’d $400 to his boss and loaded up the freezer with steaks, catfish, shrimp, salmon, hamburger patties, tenderloins and who knows what else. Years later, the catfish still sat in the freezer. We managed to consume the rest, but pretty sure $400 was NOT a great deal. Blind trust. Blind Guides and Spiritual Abuse My “life” experience with Mr. Whitewater, the real estate guy, can be similar to experiences navigating this thing we call “faith,” and having a ‘not-guide’ as a guide. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” We have everything we need. But we also have enemies trying to take away both our life, and our godliness. Jesus referred to some of the religious leaders in Jerusalem as “blind guides.” I have been vulnerable to the ‘blind guide’ persuasion more than once. Ego, being ‘needed’, flattery, have all taken me places God did not have on HIS mind. Following the council of people I considered to be friends, during my career I accepted employment at a couple of places that did not turn out well for me. In one case, I had a supernatural warning to stay away. But I was flattered. I thought, “If this person believes in me, who am I to doubt! God will help me.” Slowly a nightmare unfolded, and I resigned. I still consider those people to be friends, but they could not see, any more than I could, how things would play out. Blind following the blind. The Greek word translated as “blind,” tuphlos, has its root in tuphoo, which means inflated with self-conceit, high-minded, proud. A ‘blind guide’ believes their ways are right and good and will end up in the right place. They see an illusion, and recruit others to chase it with them. The equally blind followers, may be just happy to be included, happily chase behind the guide. If a spiritual leader begins to rely on his/her own skills, knowledge, charisma, and does not maintain a humble dependence on the Holy Spirit's guidance in their ministry, they can become 'blind guides' leading their sheep away from God's plans and purpose. Though they are outwardly impressive and possibly charismatic, their ultimate destiny is NOT where anyone would want to be. In the same passage of Matthew, Jesus also calls the blind guides out as “hypocrites.” (Matthew 15:7) The blind guides likely reason that they are doing good, serving God, taking care of holy business. But their motives are questionable, and their understanding is lacking. Some extreme examples of these religious leaders have formed cults. An online article by Psychology Today lists 50 traits found in cult leaders and spiritual abusers. (Joe Navarro, 2025) Here are a few:
The teaching passages are uplifting, but the tone of their message tends toward the oppressive. For example: Ephesians 4:3 “ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (The sermon: Unity, unity, unity. Get on board, or get out.) 1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.” (The sermon: Stay out of my lane or there will be a fatality.) Titus 3:10 “Warn a divisive person once and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them.” (The sermon: If you aren’t ‘going along to get along’, then go away.) 1 Samuel 15:23 “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry (The sermon: Rebels are witches. Burn them!) Hebrews 13:17a “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you. . . (The sermon: Me shepherd. You sheep. All shepherds = good shepherds. Just keep following.) Romans 13:1 “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established by God.” (God put me here. You have to submit.) Interpreted in context, these are ALL amazing scriptures. In the message of an arrogant leader they can be used to control. Unity. Submit. Authority. Peace. No Disorder. No Rebellion. No Division. No questions. THIS IS THE WAY. But IS it? Stay tuned. Reflection/Discussion:
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