BRIAN SEYMOUR WRITES FROM FREEPORT
cialis sales shop times;”>
SERVANT LEADERS: THE I WILL FACTOR
troche times;”>by Brian Seymour
Since attaining Independence in 1973, the Bahamas has had three Prime Ministers. First, there was the Father of the nation, Sir Lynden Pindling, secondly, The Honorable Hubert Ingraham; and now, The Honorable Perry Christie, the present sitting Prime Minister. All three men given allowances for human frailties have served us well. They all share a common character fault, not knowing when one’s season is finished. In the case of the first two, they had to suffer humiliating defeat at the polls, and then sent home leaving in its wake, their parties in shambles having to rebuild almost from the ground up instead of passing the baton.
The PLP is a democratic organization whether or not its leader will be challenged the question does not arise. In the party’s convention at the appropriate time all positions become vacant. It is for the convention delegates to decide who their leaders and officers will be. The more appropriate question is can the PLP win the government again with Mr. Christies as its leader. The answer to that question is simply answered by way of scientific polling. In the modern Bahamas, we need not guess the outcome because polling has become a science. If the polling results prove unfavorable, the party elders should meet and consensus arrived at in a mature and amicable way without rancor for the good of the party. This method was used by our neighbors to the north when the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives announced this past Friday his retirement as Speaker of the House. Most commentators believe he could have survived a vote to remain as speaker but would have left his party seriously divided; so, for the good of his party, he retired.
This past week, my spirit was troubled by some of the pronouncements of the Prime Minister. I call it the “I” factor. Accordingly, he said, “I will go in to convention as “Leader and I will come out as Leader.” He further stated, “I will not let anyone put “unbecoming language”______to my head and say it is time to go.” “I do not believe it will be much of a race.” I was truly disturbed because his proud and boastful message contradicted the very scripture he so frequently uses at church services, Psalm 103 vs. 15&16. It speaks to man’s mortality and his days on earth being likened to grass. I was further troubled because I quickly remembered the story of the rich man who said I will tear down my barns and build larger ones; and, I will eat, drink, and be merry. The story ends with tonight your soul will be required of thee. I, knew then, that as a servant leader he was treading on dangerous ground and needed to be reminded that the breath he breathes is not his own. We should be careful at all times to say God’s will be done.
The lesson of Moses, the great servant leader and emancipator who led the children of Israel out of bondage was not finished his work but it was God’s will that said he was. King David, a man of God’s own heart, wanted so badly to build the great temple, but it was God’s will that his work was done; and, his Son Solomon was tasked with that great honor. In our time, Dr. Myles Munroe, the evangelist, conference speaker, and an expositor of the Word of God, who had preached to the four corners of the globe, and was still relatively a young man; man might say he was at the zenith of his great work, but it was God’s will that his work on earth was finished, and someone else was left to pick up the baton and continue the work. So, a sovereign God’s will, will always be done.
?