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China. Scores of millions died vio–
lently in various purges, pogroms and
civil wars as Communism took over
and its atheistic leaders began forc–
ing their anti-god, communistic be–
liefs down the throats of their sub–
jects.
Even certain Russian leaders later
repudiated their former "great"
leader Joseph Stalin. Following Sta–
lin's death, a wide de-Sta1inization
program was initiated for the pur–
pose of obli terating from the minds
of the Russian people as much of the
ideas and memory of Stalin as possi–
ble. And this same thing will be re–
peated in other countries when their
leaders die- unless those 1eaders
have really had the welfare of their
peoples at heart.
What is the essence of a good lead–
er? Sorne say that a leader is one who
can "persuade" others to follow him.
But there are good and bad persua–
sive leaders. Countless millions
blindly followed a persuasive Hi tler
to their shame and destruction.
Leaders Should Be Servants
Jesus Christ, the greatcst leader of
all time, rcvealed what constitutes
truc leadership--at least in the eyes
of God. Christ said: "You know that
the rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over
them,
and their great men
overbear
tlzem:
not so with you. Whoever
wants to be the great man among you
must be your servant, and whosoever
wants to be first among you must be
the slave of all; justas the Son of man
has not come to be scrved but to
serve,
and to give his lifc as a ransom
for many" (Matthew 20:25-28, Mof–
fatt translation).
In the eyes of God Almighty, what
makes one great is bis ability to
serve
othcrs. Who is the greatest Being in
all the universe? God is! But why?
Because He is the greatest servant.
If
a man wants to assume an office
or a position simply because of the
benefits or the prestige and g1ory
which he will rcceive from holding
that office, then he is not qualified to
rule others.
Nearly four thousand ycars ago, a
very able leader and administrator
named Moscs appeared among men.
To this very day he is acclaimed as
one of the greatest legislators and
14
administrators of all time. (Actually,
the laws which Moses gave carne
from God.)
Meses carne to understand the es–
sence of true leadership: "Moreover,"
said Meses' father-in-1aw, "thou shalt
provide out of all the peop1e
able men,
sucb
asfear God, men oftrutlz,
hating
covetousness; and place such over
them, to be rulers of thousands, and
rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties,
and rulers of tens: and Jet them judge
thepeopleatallseasons ... "(Exodus
18:21,22).
Leaders should be able men, men
wbo fear God, men of truth, and they
must resist corruption through
bribes-"hating covetousness." Any
city or nation which has such mcn for
its leaders will be wisely governed.
One of the greatest leadership
Real leadership is
learning to think and act
like God. This means
learning to !ove instead
of hate. It means
humility instead of pride.
' '
traits is that of honesty. During the
"Watergate mess," America experi–
enced lying, deceit and downright
dishonesty in high offices. Watergate
only underscored the importance of
leaders always being open and hon–
est. But it is doubtful that we have
really learned this lesson.
Honesty
A true leader will establish his office
or bis administration on
trutlz;
he will
abhor deceit and líes; he will culti–
vate honesty and faithfulness.
Jesus Christ once said: "He that is
faithful in that which is least is
faithful also in much: and he that is
unjust in the least is unjust also in
much" (Luke 16:10).
Former U.S. President Harry S.
Trumao reported1y always refused to
use Government stationery or stamps
for strictly prívate matters. Would to
God that we had more men in high
office who were faitbful in such mat–
ters-sbunning all favors and bribes,
and refusing to take so much as a
postage stamp that didn't belong to
them.
America's tragic Watergate epi–
sede has taught the world that deceit
and hypocrisy (and outrigbt lying) in
government can only be bad for the
individual and for the nation.
Jesus Christ was a frank, open,
honest person at all times, "who did
no sin, neither was guile [deceit]
found in his mouth" ( 1 Peter 2:2 1,
22).
Humlllty
Another character trait of a real
leader is that of humility. Notice how
this was emphasized by Christ: "But
he that is
greatest
among you shall
be your
servant.
And whosoever shall
exalt himself shall be abased; and he
that shall
Jzumble
himse1f shall be
exalted" (Mattbew 23: 11, 12).
Remember, a true 1eader is there
to
serve
and
assist
his subjects- not
to lord it over them in an arrogant or
haughty manner, as sorne of this
world's leaders so often do. Everyone
bates conceit-at least in others. " By
humility and the fear of the Lord are
riches, and honor, and life" (Prov–
erbs 22:4).
No man can long bear rule unless
he learns to be very assiduous. He
must be alert, and must work hard.
ln short, he must be
diligent.
King
Solomon wrote: "The hand of the
diligent sball bear rule: but the sloth–
ful shall be under tribute" (Proverbs
12:24) . And, "Seest thou a man dili–
gent in his business? he shall stand
before kings; be shall not stand be–
fore mean men" (Proverbs 22:29).
Seeking Wise Counsel
Another most important leadership
characteristic is that of learning to
always seek wise counsel. No man
knows everything. To make wise de–
cisions, we need to learn to get sound,
broadly based counsel.
Read the wisdom of Solomon, as
recorded in tbe book of Proverbs,
about obtaining wise counsel.
" ... In the multitude of counsellors
The
PLAIN TRUTH October
1
November 1979