THERE are, of course, many bright spots insofar as leadership is concerned in the world today, be it in the field of politics, business, economics and finance, culture, social life, etc. That we are still a functioning world, despite errors and defects, can only bespeak of a leadership that’s still floating.
Leadership and the use of authority are a dynamic thing. They can have their ups and downs, their highs and lows, their boom and bust. We just have to understand that a lot depends on the kind of people involved in them, and especially on whether they understand the true nature, origin and end of power.
And this is none other than that leadership, authority and power can only have their source in God, their purpose also in God, and the proper way to handle them in God as well. It cannot be any other way.
The other way, which can only be by making ourselves the be-all and end-all of power and authority, can spell disaster, trouble, endless strifes and rivalries, no matter how successful so far we may have been able to govern ourselves through different systems.
Leadership, power and authority cannot be other than our participation in the leadership, power and authority of God. They come from God. They can only be exercised in him, and for the purpose God has for them.
This does not mean that we have to have a kind of theocracy as our form of government, or fanaticism and fundamentalism as a way of life.
We know enough that God does not mean that, since human affairs can involve a wide variety of positions, ways and means that can even be conflicting with each other and that need to be respected.
It simply means that in any exercise of leadership, power and authority, while a lot depends on us, the primary role of God should always be acknowledged, respected and defended. It’s not something to be afraid of or to be ashamed of.
But this is what we are seeing these days. Religion, faith or any reference to God and to things spiritual and supernatural are often accused these days as divisive or as downright irrelevant to human affairs. At best, they are meant to be strictly a personal private affair of an individual.
This goes precisely against the very nature of God who is God not only in our private life, but also in our public affairs. He is a God of everyone in all levels and aspects.
This is the essence of the feast of the Epiphany of our Lord—Jesus wanting to manifest himself to the whole world. We just have to learn how to do this crucial aspect of our life properly, looking at the example of Jesus always whose theophany was done always in a discreet way.
God cannot be a cause of division, since he is the principle of unity and the end of everything and of everyone. At least, this is what Christianity and practically all religions are all about. Christianity does this by showing the extreme of charity—to the point of dying for love of God and of souls.
It upholds truth and justice, but it does this always in the context of understanding, compassion, quickness to forgive and forget, willingness to drown evil with an abundance of good. The only violence involved is the one inflicted on oneself rather than on others, of the kind that is more moral than physical.
There are also those who think that an emphasis on religion in wielding power in our human affairs will make us awkward and even incompetent. This, of course, can happen precisely if religion is misunderstood and mishandled.
But it need by like that. In fact, it should not be like that. If anything, what an abiding relation with God does is to give us a greater sensitivity and firmer determination to identify, assess, solve our problems thoroughly.
It would truly be funny, if not utterly dangerous, if we just rely completely on our own resources and devices, independently of God. We would have every reason to worry and fear, because no matter how smart and clever we can be, such qualities are nothing compared to the challenges we have to face.
Even without mentioning our spiritual enemies, our natural and infranatural challenges alone can already be so daunting as to guarantee our defeat and failure. We need to hook our exercise of leadership, power and authority on God always! We just have to learn how to do it with naturalness.
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