L
eadership has many faces. It runs the gamut from
the street corner bully to the most exalted religious
leader. From Genghis Khan to Washington, from the
Apostle Paul to Hitler, from Lao‐tse to Mao‐tse Tung.
These people were all leaders because they had devel-
oped within themselves those qualities and capacities
that make humans take the lead in the circumstances
in which they find themselves at any given time. Yet
what a difference there was among them! We have the
Apostle Paul who led a young religious community
into a new age; Hitler who led a nation into a millen-
nium of his own design, thereby unleashing a world
catastrophe costing millions of lives; Lao‐tse who
patiently guided his people into a better understanding
of the Laws of God; and Mao‐tse Tung who wilfully
abrogated the Laws of God and substituted them with
his own. Even the street corner bully in his reckless
disregard for the laws of society, and Genghis Khan
who ruthlessly conquered other peoples and made
them subject to his will are leaders of sorts.
As always, the gifts of God to man can be used for
good or for evil, to serve a useful purpose or to satisfy
selfish desires. As such, they are neutral, neither good
nor bad. Simply gifts offered to mankind by a living
Creator. It is man himself who makes either good or
bad use of them. So when considering leadership, the
first question that we must ask ourselves is: ‘Why do
we want to lead?’ In other words, ‘What are our
deepest motives?’ ‘Do we want to become a Paul or a
Hitler, a Lao‐tse or a Mao‐tse Tung?’ ‘Do we want to
lead others in an upwards direction in accordance with
God's Will or do we want to lead them to a goal of our
own design?’ We must not forget that we can use the
qualities that make humans leaders either to please the
Lord or to blaspheme Him. Our own decision tips the
scales in one direction or the other. This can be seen by
studying various leaders, both good and evil. Many
had similar qualities, similar skills, but some were
connected with, and served only the Light, whileothers were merely tools of the Darkness, totally cut
off from the Light. There were also some who started
off on the right path, but then, relying only on their
intellect and consumed by self-will, they lost the
connection with their spiritual guidance and strayed
from the right path, as Aaron did long ago, when he
embraced the Golden Calf or Judas, who had the gifts
to become another Paul, but instead became the
ultimate traitor.S
ervice also takes on many different forms. There is
the service of the faithful religious leader who
patiently and conscientiously guides his flock towards
better pastures; of the devout wife and mother who
unselfishly caters to her loved ones; of the unpreten-
tious community leader who devotes his life to the
community even when not appreciated by his fellow
citizens. Then there is the ambitious climber who gives
service–often very good service–but his is a calculated
service in order to be noticed, a necessary chore on the
way up. Or we have the piously devout individual who
gives service because the society in which he lives
demands it as the price of being a member in good
standing. Both groups perform services which may, on
the surface, appear quite the same, but are, in fact,
distinctly different in origin and effect. The values they
create also differ sharply.
Like leadership, service is a neutral function. It can
be turned to either good or evil purpose, with the one
giving the service deciding which it is to be. By virtue
of his free will, given to him by the Creator, man has
the inalienable right to make the choice, but is just as
inalienably bound to the consequences of that choice.
So, the second question that we must ask ourselves is:
‘Why do we wish to serve?’ ‘Do we wish to serve our
own motives, or is our service going to be selfless?’ We
can fool men as to our true motives, but we can never
hide these motives from the Will of God that is
expressed in the Laws of Creation. These laws consider10 Pearl • August 2019LEADERSHIP IN THE
SERVICE OF MANKIND
ERNEST SCHUETTLER
L
eadership has many faces. It runs the gamut from
the street corner bully to the most exalted religious
leader. From Genghis Khan to Washington, from the
Apostle Paul to Hitler, from Lao‐tse to Mao‐tse Tung.
These people were all leaders because they had devel-
oped within themselves those qualities and capacities
that make humans take the lead in the circumstances
in which they find themselves at any given time. Yet
what a difference there was among them! We have the
Apostle Paul who led a young religious community
into a new age; Hitler who led a nation into a millen-
nium of his own design, thereby unleashing a world
catastrophe costing millions of lives; Lao‐tse who
patiently guided his people into a better understanding
of the Laws of God; and Mao‐tse Tung who wilfully
abrogated the Laws of God and substituted them with
his own. Even the street corner bully in his reckless
disregard for the laws of society, and Genghis Khan
who ruthlessly conquered other peoples and made
them subject to his will are leaders of sorts.
As always, the gifts of God to man can be used for
good or for evil, to serve a useful purpose or to satisfy
selfish desires. As such, they are neutral, neither good
nor bad. Simply gifts offered to mankind by a living
Creator. It is man himself who makes either good or
bad use of them. So when considering leadership, the
first question that we must ask ourselves is: ‘Why do
we want to lead?’ In other words, ‘What are our
deepest motives?’ ‘Do we want to become a Paul or a
Hitler, a Lao‐tse or a Mao‐tse Tung?’ ‘Do we want to
lead others in an upwards direction in accordance with
God's Will or do we want to lead them to a goal of our
own design?’ We must not forget that we can use the
qualities that make humans leaders either to please the
Lord or to blaspheme Him. Our own decision tips the
scales in one direction or the other. This can be seen by
studying various leaders, both good and evil. Many
had similar qualities, similar skills, but some were
connected with, and served only the Light, while
others were merely tools of the Darkness, totally cut
off from the Light. There were also some who started
off on the right path, but then, relying only on their
intellect and consumed by self-will, they lost the
connection with their spiritual guidance and strayed
from the right path, as Aaron did long ago, when he
embraced the Golden Calf or Judas, who had the gifts
to become another Paul, but instead became the
ultimate traitor.S
ervice also takes on many different forms. There is
the service of the faithful religious leader who
patiently and conscientiously guides his flock towards
better pastures; of the devout wife and mother who
unselfishly caters to her loved ones; of the unpreten-
tious community leader who devotes his life to the
community even when not appreciated by his fellow
citizens. Then there is the ambitious climber who gives
service–often very good service–but his is a calculated
service in order to be noticed, a necessary chore on the
way up. Or we have the piously devout individual who
gives service because the society in which he lives
demands it as the price of being a member in good
standing. Both groups perform services which may, on
the surface, appear quite the same, but are, in fact,
distinctly different in origin and effect. The values they
create also differ sharply.
Like leadership, service is a neutral function. It can
be turned to either good or evil purpose, with the one
giving the service deciding which it is to be. By virtue
of his free will, given to him by the Creator, man has
the inalienable right to make the choice, but is just as
inalienably bound to the consequences of that choice.
So, the second question that we must ask ourselves is:
‘Why do we wish to serve?’ ‘Do we wish to serve our
own motives, or is our service going to be selfless?’ We
can fool men as to our true motives, but we can never
hide these motives from the Will of God that is
expressed in the Laws of Creation. These laws consider10 Pearl • August 2019LEADERSHIP IN THE
SERVICE OF MANKIND
ERNEST SCHUETTLER