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Up or Down Vote

Napoleon was said to know more about the nature of man in war than any other world leader. This knowledge was part of his genius. Unless a leader can correctly predict the reactions of his followers, he cannot lead with decisiveness.

To me, there are several themes about human nature a Christian leader must understand. One of them is the nature of man. Our son, Fred, Jr., once asked me, "Dad, if you only had one more talk to make, what would be the subject?" Great question. My answer was easy to compose. "The nature of God and the nature of man." It is foundational to all human interaction, and definitely to all leadership.

Is man’s tendency toward wrong although he has great potential for good? Or, is man fundamentally good with a tendency toward sin? One of my earliest mentors and one of my most important was an international financier and economist. He was a man of philosophy.

One morning at breakfast, he told me "You Protestants are going to ruin the world’s economy by changing your view of human nature. Originally, you believed man was basically evil and mankind had to buttress against that tendency. Now, particularly in politics, you have decided man’s tendency is toward good. All you have to do is create systems to implement this tendency by giving unbridled freedom, financial aid, and unfettered education." This man was a renown Jewish thinker who chided me on the Protestant slippage.

Following this, I made an informal survey of several audiences. I asked them if man’s tendency is up or down. Surprisingly, more than 75% of nearly every audience indicated their belief in man’s basic goodness with a slant toward wrong.

This misunderstanding of the scriptural principle of man’s nature is one of the major problems with our society. Man wants to feel he is basically good and when confronted with difficult situations will always choose the right. This conclusion leads man to believe he is self-sufficient.

Seated next to Norman Cousins one night, I asked him his thoughts on the human condition.

"I am very optimistic. What man has done he can undo." I wished at that moment to have a raw egg. I would have lifted it over the head table, dropped it, and then said, "Your turn."

This week carefully consider: 1) Would I vote up or down on the nature of man? 2) How can I apply Fred’s thinking this week? 3) Where is my sufficiency grounded?

Words of Wisdom: "Unless a leader can correctly predict the reactions of his followers, he cannot lead with decisiveness."

Wisdom from the Word: "The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.It is incurably bad.Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9 NET Bible)