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| Jesus Christ on the Cross: Picture of Victory! |
There is a kind of
leader who is validated and energized by the humiliation, enslavement and
oppression of others. The Pharaohs, Mugabes, Saddam Husseins, and the Mobutus
of this world fall into this category. Reproach is the garment of those who
follow them.
There is another kind
of leader who is only validated and enthused by the empowerment of others; he
looks for avenues to tap and unleash the creative energies of his followers,
constantly affirming their worth and nobility. He does not wait to be served.
His authority comes from being a servant. He is willing and ready to impoverish
himself so that others can be enriched. He puts himself last so that others can
come first, in perking orders of privilege. Grace is the garment of his
followers. Because it is rare, the world is in desperate need of this kind of
leader.
In the Garden of
Eden, these two distinct strands of leadership were represented in the twin
personalities that inhabited it. We had traditionally been taught that Adam was
the only male in Eden, but that’s not true. The serpent that came tempting Eve
was not just another long, twisting, creeping reptile, but a full grown man,
clothed in the finest of garments, radiating wealth, power and influence. (Of
the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus called out: “Ye serpents, ye generation of
vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?” see Matt.23:33)
The serpent called
variously Satan, Prince of Darkness, man of sin, son of perdition, old dragon,
was already established as the King of the earth. By natural rights bestowed by
the Creator, the wealth and riches of the earth belonged to him. He stole none.
He also had the power of death. He was crafty and intelligent. Wisdom was
native to him. He was arrogant and supremely confident in the delusion of his
mind.
Adam, on the other
hand, Prince of Light and son of salvation, was poor, weak,
foolish; but he was the one who had the blessing
from the Creator. What it meant was Adam had dominion over everything, and also
the capability to subdue anything that proved to be an obstruction.
Interestingly, while
the prince of darkness, clueless, considered Adam’s presence an intrusion,
there was nothing he could do about it. The serpent was caught in some sort of
mental paralysis, a moronic and robotic personality, no less. Even though he
was hungry, he could not feed on anything without Adam’s go-ahead.
The stage was set for
an epic confrontation. Now his work of
dressing and keeping the Garden
entailed virtually that Adam would be the last person to feed and clothe
himself. A fasting rehearsal was on. Perplexity hung in the air. Besides, no
one had any knowledge of what was right
to eat! All they had to go on was: “You
shall die the day you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” You know the rest of the story. The son of
perdition, dipping into his bag of trickery and deception, managed to get the
woman to think she was stupid and taken advantage of. Easy to believe this
magnificent looking man in comparison to her dirt-poor husband!
Adam flunked the
test. If he had passed the test, it would have been Adam’s responsibility to
destroy the Man of Sin, and eliminate the power of darkness.
For Adam, to remain
with his earthly component would make him flounder like a fish out of water.
The earth was only needed to give Adam a shape and form. Other than that, the
earth was superfluous, an excess baggage whose expiry or terminal date was
inevitable. Not so for the Prince of Darkness whose natural habitat was the
earth where he could flourish and breathe easily.
(For clues, read:
“And the children struggled together
within her, and she said, if it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire
of the Lord. And the LORD said unto her, Two
nations are in thy womb, and two manners of people shall be separated from
thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people: and the
elder shall serve the younger.” –
Genesis 25:22-23.)
Indeed if the earthly
component of Adam was not destroyed and annihilated, the cluelessness,
destitution and weakness of the earth would have shaded his perspective, and made him to misbehave
or malfunction. That, of course, would
not have been acceptable. Still, without attempting to rig the results, God was
careful for Adam to take responsibility for every step he took. Let it be noted
though that Adam was not able to receive his kingdom from heaven before he
fell.
Now the fear of death
had all along prevented the elect of God from reaching for the extraordinary
freedom and unsearchable riches that lay on the other side of death. Adam
failed. King Solomon, another epochal figure assigned in line to lay down his
life, and put off the toga of an earthly king, allowed personal pleasures to
break his focus. No man being excusable today for mental laziness, Jesus
Christ, exercising his authority to lay down his life, had destroyed Satan who
had the power of death: the freedom is within reach for the elect to achieve
leadership greatness, instead of grovelling on the floor of mediocrity.
Two things not to be
neglected on the path to achieving leadership greatness:
1. Law
of Perspective: This law states that unlike the Maker who gives you the
latitude to see whatever is available, your preference not discounted, Satan
has no interest in leaving you with any choice, but with diabolical
manipulation, he attempts always to force
you to shift your perspective to align with his. In other words, Satan wants you to see the way and things
that he is capable of seeing. If
he could get you to do this, you become neutralized as you feel disadvantaged.
When the woman in Eden was manipulated by the serpent to lock her attention on
the forbidden tree, she started feeling stupid and neutralized. When the 10
spies saw the promised land of wealth and plenty from a belittled satanic
perspective, they saw themselves as pathetic grasshoppers instead of
giant-killers, and their faith was overthrown. What Prophet Jeremiah was able
to see would receive a hastened performance!
No one should
force you to see things the way they see. You are at liberty to discount what
everyone else is seeing, especially if it is contradictory to God’s
perspective. You have your eyes. What you see with them is entirely your
responsibility, not anyone else. You have your vision. Let your vision speak
more eloquently than your adverse circumstance. Whatever you do, see things
from a heavenly perspective. Unlike the elect, Satan remains blinded,
incapable of seeing what God can see! Again, take note: it’s not about your
imagination which can fail you. It’s about your capacity to apprehend and
capture with your mental eye only what the Creator is capable of seeing.
2. Ask
No Questions in the Time of Perplexity is called Praise, not Prayer: The Word of God heard is not subject to
EXAMINATION or QUESTIONS, but only meant for OBEDIENCE. Questioning, a
by-product of the tree of knowledge, represents doubt, unbelief and
instability. If Adam had embraced as his security the Word of God that came to
him even to the point of perishing, spurning any satanic interrogation, we
would have been telling a different story today.
When Abraham
was asked to sacrifice his Isaac, he asked no question, but went ahead to obey.
Even Jesus found out in the depth of profound agony that the only way to
victory is his death sacrifice. That his Father would not rig the results.
Prayer cannot change God’s instruction: at critical moments on the path of
leadership greatness. When you cannot maintain silence, and find yourself
trying to scream out in perplexity, open your mouth and praise instead! What you
have to go through, you must go through!
(To be continued)
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