Follow the Leader

I am sure you’ve watched people walking their dogs in the evening, or I should say dogs walking their masters. 

It is funny, yet sad to watch a dog owner as they struggle to hold onto a leash that is being yanked and pulled, and the person almost being dragged from place to place wherever man’s best friend is determined to go.  It is a true picture of untrained pets that have been allowed to have their way, here-to-fore. 

It is easy to look the other way and be more lenient when dogs are puppies.  Certain patterns are then formed of giving into the pup, but as they mature, the habits they develop can become problematic.  This behavior is then interpreted as being disobedient.  The pet remains the aggressive leader over its master trying to take the lead.

I have also witnessed pet owners assuming their responsible role as leader over their pet and directing them in the path that the owner decides to go.  The dog obeys and joyfully walks at the master’s side, while enjoying the night out together. 

It makes perfect sense to me that proper training of how a pet should follow the leader must happen early on when pets are young.  There is truth in the saying, “You can’t teach old dog’s new tricks.”

When my wife and I were married in 1971, the groomsmen and bridesmaids decorated my car with different, colored streamers and soaped up the windows with, JUST MARRIED.  They also tied thin pieces of rope to my rear bumper with tin cans firmly attached to the other end of the ropes.

Several cars would line up behind the decorated car with the newly married couple inside, my wife and me, and everyone would follow the leader, blowing their horns in celebration of the married couple, while driving single file around town.

This practice was very popular in my day and was called The Chase.  It reminds me of playing Follow the Leader as a kid when I would get together with my neighborhood buddies and ride our bicycles, instead of driving cars, teehee.

We chose a leader to follow and performed on our bikes everything that the leader did on his or her bike.  Following the Leader had its ups and downs, literally.  This could prove somewhat dangerous to those following if the leader was too aggressive, reckless, and took chances that shouldn’t be taken.

It was up to each individual follower if they were dumb enough to try some of the silly stunts the leader was doing or bow out and say “No” to danger and go their separate way.

There was a time I followed the wrong spiritual leader that was dangerous in all his ways and lead me into everything that was unsafe, debased, and anti-Christ.  It was very sad that I struggled when becoming lost on this meaningless journey, while losing sight of important values that I was taught in my youth.

Self-esteem was also slipping away.  My leader, the devil, did his best to take from me any hope of making heaven my home, because I was too dumb to say, “No” to his enticements and go the other way from his influence.  I played Follow the Leader with the wrong example for a leader.

I allowed myself to be put into compromising situations that hurt me physically and most assuredly affected my spiritual wellbeing in negative ways.  It was like the times I hurt myself when crashing my bike, because I didn’t bow out when playing Follow the Leader with an aggressive leader as a kid.

I was being devoured by a selfish, uncaring spirit that is evil in every way that gave me nothing but heartache.

(1 Peter 5:8), “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Following the right leader matters when we want to respect ourselves, live an abundant, prosperous life, and possess the hope of eternal life in heaven when we pass from this life.  The perfect leader is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of the true and living God.

We have a choice; we can choose good or evil; right or wrong.  The entity we select to be our leader will ultimately determine where we spend eternity.  A sobering thought is this: Our eventual destination will either be in the presence of Almighty God, in heaven, or with our adversary, the devil, in hell.  It depends on who we follow.

Understand this, we cannot play church and expect anything from the Lord by holding onto the things of God with one hand, hoping or pretending that He is our leader, and at the same time, holding onto sinful things around us with the other hand.  This is foolish; it’s an effort in futility.  Fresh and bitter water never flows from the same fountain.

(Matthew 6:24), “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon (money).”  

There is no in-between with God, no neutral ground.  Being lukewarm is not in God’s vocabulary and unacceptable with Him.

(Revelation 3:15,16), “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I could wish you were cold or hot.”  (v 16) “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

There is only One true leader that God recognizes.  His name is Jesus.  We will most assuredly follow a good leader or an evil one, it is in our DNA to do so.  We were created to worship someone; it will be Jesus Christ or Satan.

Refusal or procrastination to choose Christ means the decision has already been made, automatically, as the default to follow Satan as leader.  We are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God, and because of this, the devil is already the default leader.

This is why every person must choose to follow a leader having pure integrity that has the soul of humanity as His top priority.  Jesus is my perfect leader of choice—the Master and Savior.

When I play Follow the Leader with Him, it is not a game; it is literally a life and death decision and nothing to scoff at or take lightly.  He is the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Life.  To play Follow the Leader with anything or anyone else other than Jesus, is signing one’s own death warrant for eternity; separated from God forever.

The choice is ours to make.  To follow the leadership of Jesus is the most important eternal decision that a person will ever make in their lifetime.

Written by,

Papa Boyd