Leadership is a calling, privilege and a responsibility not easily carried out

Leadership is a calling, a privilege, a great responsibility, and often a great burden not easily carried by those who truly seek to bring life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for the least of those who are governed.

Leadership is not making people feel good. Canadian Prime Minister (1993-2003) Jean Chretien was quoted as saying that it was (The Toronto Star, June 7, 1984). He later said that, “The art of politics is learning to walk with your back to the wall, your elbows high, and a smile on your face. It is a survival game played under the glare of lights” (“Straight from the Heart,” 1985).

We have learned that the glare of lights can often blind us to the truth.

Those who have been called to walk under “the glare of lights” whether they are political, religious, financial leaders or celebrities who have achieved fame and fortune must always remember that they are responsible for what they do and what they have not done for the greater good. This is true not only for those who lead but also for those who follow. The great temptation to survive so that one can remain in the glare of light often distorts our conception of what is truly good. We can blind ourselves to the extent that we believe we are the center of the universe and can determine for ourselves what is right and what is wrong. This moral disease, this corruption of the soul often has the need to justify itself under the guise of self-righteousness. Forbes magazine quoted billionaire George Soros as saying, “It is sort of a disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.”

We do feel comfortable in affirming, expressing and demanding our so-called “rights,” rights that we have fabricated to suit our own lifestyles, rights which we proclaim and defend even if they destroy another or our very selves. Augustine discovered that his self-righteousness was nothing but self-deceit that could lead to hatred. He said, “Truth is so loved that whosoever love anything else would have that to be truth which they love. And because they are not willing to be deceived, they are not willing to be convinced that they were in error. Therefore, they hate the truth for the sake of that thing which they love instead of the truth. They love the truth when it shines upon them: they hate it when it contradicts them” (“The Confessions,” 255). Be certain that the truth does not always shine upon us.

Politicians, the religious, those with power and wealth are called to be shepherds — not gods. Sadly, we often do treat them like gods. Augustine said that there are false shepherds who seek only their own concerns. “They enjoy the bounty of milk and wool” (material wealth and power) but they have no concern for those whom they govern and lead. Many follow in their footsteps. Leadership is a calling, a gift, and a very great responsibility but only for those who do not seek or need the glare of lights to shine upon them. “From everyone to whom much is given, much will be required,” Luke 12:48.