Gravity has now become a loaded term to this leader whose first love was science. This natural phenomenon pulls everything, to include the air we breathe, earthward; at least on this globe. Our bodies even remind us of our downward pull, with tummies sagging and the grave ever before us as we age. Yet there is a “grave” import to the fact that as eternal spirits, we must never allow ourselves to become too earth-bound.
Even to wonder out loud, like this, has its consequences for leaders. Contained within an atmosphere of status quo, those desiring to live above the limitations of culture, outside the boat, face the peril of criticism from those too comfortable with gravity and in some cases, hidden self-interest. Our earthboundedness always limits, even the economy. Where would we be without the entrepreneur, the out of the box thinker who asks “why not?”
There is value to stability and status quo, for these are the finishers; yet settling too long in that moment only creates the addiction to nostalgia and retards the breakthrough moments that belong to those who refuse being locked in to the norm.
This morning reinforced this reality, as I listened to the early morning rain pelting the shingles of our home, a sound created as gravity finally dislodged droplets of moisture, no longer able to defy its pull from the atmosphere to the earth.
The limitations imposed by politics teach one to play safe; religion sustains its laws, creating deep and defying traditions, orthodoxy. Even our financial institutions reinforce risk averse behavior, justified in part by one of the greatest recessions of all times. Yet the very monies managed by our banks were more than likely created by the entrepreneur, the out of the box thinker, who to many first seemed foolish in their endeavors.
My early morning thoughts I trust are spiritually motivated, for this is my time to explore the scriptures, and today, it was Mark 6:1-4. In verse one, “many who heard him were amazed” and then one verse later, “And they took offense at him.” Jesus was simply “amazed at their lack of faith.”
This God-man refused to be earthbound and He changed the globe. For that leader who aspires to be like Him, lift your eyes above the heavens, even beyond our galaxy, for there is hope and wisdom for both the earthy practical and the eternal.