Spirit of Leadership

THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP life. When I mention the heart, I assume that most people immediately think of the physical organ that beats in our chests. But this is not what this word means in the context of leadership. The Bible provides us with many truths about the heart. When it uses this word , it’s usually referring to our subcon scious minds and their contents. The historically renowned psychologist, Freud, in his attempt to describe and define this concept of the heart, referred to it as the “psyche.” But what is the heart? From early medieval times, the heart has been a meta phor for the center of our being. Dr. David Allen, a lead ing psychologist, in his book, Contemplation, says it this way: “It is the decision-making center where all of our choices— good and evil—are decided....The heart is both conscious and unconscious....[It] is also a place of understanding and reasoning. According to Pascal, ‘The heart has reasons the mind knows not of.’...The heart is the deepest psychological ground of our personality.” 23 The heart is the seat of our reasoning, the storehouse of all our thoughts, the seedbed for our ideas, and the center of our decision making. It is the “hard drive” for our con scious minds. Our hearts or subconscious minds are what motivate us in our attitudes and actions, even though we may not be aware of what is influencing us. Jesus, the ultimate leader of leaders, gave much atten tion to this aspect of the human development and training W HEN A PERSON KNOWS HIS C REATOR AND HIMSELF , THEN HIS LEADERSHIP IS BORN .

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