Leadership

 

E pluribus unum = Many as one

 

One of my favorite scriptures is the 23rd Psalm by King David.

I memorized it when I was 12 and I play it back in my mind often

because it exemplifies the state of mind I wish I could always hold
in my head.  I think gratitude to God is extremely important, especially
in times when the world is bogged down in practices that demean

and strip the human soul of its dignity.

 

  1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
  2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
     he leadeth me beside the still waters.
  3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of
     righteousness for his name’s sake.
  4 Yea, though I walk through the valley   
     of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
     for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
  5 Thou preparest a table before me

     in the presence of mine enemies:
     thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
  6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
     all the days of my life: and I will dwell
     in the house of the Lord for ever.

I love many of David's Psalms.  It is easy to see why King Saul

called David to sing to him and ease his troubled mind and why the

people loved David so much.

David's spiritual side was very strong.

 

I think becoming king ruined him.
He was a poet and musician, not really a politician to begin with.

Being a leader brings experiences that bring out

the cynical side of a person.
Leadership means people will turn and point fingers
and cast blame on whoever holds the
position of leadership.

This is because leaders make decisions

the rest of the people can't resolve among themselves.

Leaders are in positions of high responsibility
and are given a lot of community resources
to make decisions with.
They are given the deciding vote,
which amounts to automatic victory over
any who may oppose them.
Leadership means power, but
it also means powerlessness.
If you are a leader of people who believe
they are your equals and you make a

decision they don't like they may rise up

and murder you and do cruel and obscene

things to you.

The level of pride of the people under a leader

makes all the difference in that leader's effectiveness.

We will run our elections and cast our votes, but if

the people of a country cannot agree our leaders

are rendered ineffective.

I think so many civil wars are going on in the world  today

that the people cannot agree on anything.

Without support from a unified body of people

how can our leaders lead?

 

We can prepare people to lead and raise them to positions

of dignity and pride, but unless we are prepared to be

as strong and moral and responsible as we expect them

to be, we cannot expect them to save us from our sins.

They are not gods, they are people doing a difficult job

that most of us are not qualified for.

May God have mercy on those whom we vote into

leadership positions.
They are facing unbearably evil opposition.