Passage of the Day - May 17, 2011

Ecclesiastes 7:7

 ⁷For oppression makes a wise man mad,
         And a bribe corrupts the heart.

Many good leaders have fallen into the trap of oppressing their people.  Once the oppression game begins, it is difficult to stop.  They can end up doing evil, wicked, and down right insane things.  There are many examples of this, most notably the characters from the 20^th century.  Hitler became the poster boy of evil.  Polpot called for very wicked things.  Stalin was stymied by his paranoia.  There are other examples throughout the world especially by those who rose to and maintained power through oppression who were driven mad to hold onto their power.

How do we lead our families or businesses or church groups?  Do we lead by heavy-handedness?  Or do we lead by love?

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)