Secret of a great political leader
Dear Nettles,
You tell me you have been learning about Moses but are not sure what to make of him. That's because you are stuck in the modern world and can't imagine how different things might be.
You are puzzled because you think of Moses as just a great religious leader. But he was a great political leader first, and you can't understand him if you forget that.
In fact, he was a great political leader precisely because he was a great religious leader, because he put God first. Being a modern, you probably can't grasp that, so I'll spell it out a bit.
It was as a political leader that he went to Pharaoh, demanding that the Israelite people be set free so that they might worship their God.
When Pharaoh eventually got the message and let the people go it was Moses who led them out of Egypt, who governed them on the journey, who faced down their rebellious spirit again and again, for forty years.
Very few political leaders in history ever came near to him for vision, courage and wisdom.
And it was as a political leader that he gathered all the people and spoke to them about worship.
"Listen, Israel," he said, "the Lord our God is the one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength."
He wasn't just telling them what to do as individuals or families, but as a people. They were to make God the centre of their life together.
Looking to the future he told them, "when the Lord has brought you into the land which he swore to your fathers that he would give you then take care you do not forget the Lord who brought you out of the house of slavery."
You may think that few political leaders today are like Moses but slow down, there's more to the modern state than meets the eye.
If people form a group together, be it a family, a club or a nation, they need both virtues and laws.
Virtues, like truthfulness, self-control, honesty and kindness help a community to flourish. Without these a community would eventually collapse.
Laws, on the other hand, set the minimum good behaviour that is required, such as professional standards for teachers and the materials to be used in building.
They also tell what actions are intolerable, such as drunk driving, theft, killing the innocent.
But behind virtues and laws there is always some understanding of life and God. Always. Indeed, this is the fundamental issue for every group from family and business to state and even global organisation.
Some may not believe in God, others may see him as indifferent to the way they live, as unpredictable, as demanding or as a source of hope and happiness.
As a great political leader, Moses realised that ignoring God did not make him irrelevant. It just hid his relevance from the people, leaving politicians free to act like mini gods.
And that for us is the beauty of secularist politics, its gods are corrupt but hidden. Study Moses well.
Yours hypocritically,
Dumbag
You tell me you have been learning about Moses but are not sure what to make of him. That's because you are stuck in the modern world and can't imagine how different things might be.
You are puzzled because you think of Moses as just a great religious leader. But he was a great political leader first, and you can't understand him if you forget that.
In fact, he was a great political leader precisely because he was a great religious leader, because he put God first. Being a modern, you probably can't grasp that, so I'll spell it out a bit.
It was as a political leader that he went to Pharaoh, demanding that the Israelite people be set free so that they might worship their God.
When Pharaoh eventually got the message and let the people go it was Moses who led them out of Egypt, who governed them on the journey, who faced down their rebellious spirit again and again, for forty years.
Very few political leaders in history ever came near to him for vision, courage and wisdom.
And it was as a political leader that he gathered all the people and spoke to them about worship.
"Listen, Israel," he said, "the Lord our God is the one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength."
He wasn't just telling them what to do as individuals or families, but as a people. They were to make God the centre of their life together.
Looking to the future he told them, "when the Lord has brought you into the land which he swore to your fathers that he would give you then take care you do not forget the Lord who brought you out of the house of slavery."
You may think that few political leaders today are like Moses but slow down, there's more to the modern state than meets the eye.
If people form a group together, be it a family, a club or a nation, they need both virtues and laws.
Virtues, like truthfulness, self-control, honesty and kindness help a community to flourish. Without these a community would eventually collapse.
Laws, on the other hand, set the minimum good behaviour that is required, such as professional standards for teachers and the materials to be used in building.
They also tell what actions are intolerable, such as drunk driving, theft, killing the innocent.
But behind virtues and laws there is always some understanding of life and God. Always. Indeed, this is the fundamental issue for every group from family and business to state and even global organisation.
Some may not believe in God, others may see him as indifferent to the way they live, as unpredictable, as demanding or as a source of hope and happiness.
As a great political leader, Moses realised that ignoring God did not make him irrelevant. It just hid his relevance from the people, leaving politicians free to act like mini gods.
And that for us is the beauty of secularist politics, its gods are corrupt but hidden. Study Moses well.
Yours hypocritically,
Dumbag
