Spirit of Leadership

THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP corresponded with humanity’s nature and well-being. Instead of trusting that these parameters were estab lished for its own good, humanity declared independence from its Source. Essentially, human beings thought that they could live apart from their Source and therefore cut themselves off from him. All the problems of humanity that we see today and have seen throughout our history stem from this act. When you declare independence, (1) you have to create your own identity, and (2) you become responsible for your own destiny. The problem is this: If you don’t have the resources for living independently— that is, if you don’t intrinsically have life in yourself— then your failure is inevitable. As the first man, Adam represented all of human ity. When he declared independence from his Source, he detached not only himself, but also all his future off spring, from true identity, purpose, protection, mainte nance, preservation, productivity, meaning, and life. This is why the Creator warned Adam ahead of time, saying, in effect, “The day that you rebel against me by disobeying my command, you will surely die.” The concept of death here is not referring to the physical termination of the body, for according to the biblical account of the great separation, Adam lived for hundreds of years after his act of rebellion. Rather, death refers to the severing of the relationship man had with his Creator-Source. It refers to the demise of man’s iden tity, sense of self-image, and self-worth. God was speak ing of the spiritual death that comes from being cut off from our Source. The ultimate evidence of this death is

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