Time Calms Kings

Time’s glory is to calm contending kings
To unmask falsehood and bring truth to light
To stamp the seal of time in aged things
To wake the morn and sentinel the night
To wrong the wronger till he render righ
To ruinate proud buildings with thy hours
And smear with dust their glittering golden towers.

-Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece

Today finds me sitting by the Atlantic’s seashore in The Gambia, West Africa. Children are kicking up sand as they play soccer on the beach. They seem oblivious to this week’s FIFA scandal that has cast suspicion over just about every major decision in the soccer world over the past twenty-five years. Eighteen officials are charged with offenses including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering. Their cozy lifestyles of kickbacks and obscene per diems are finally on global display. Time has its insistent way of bringing truth to light.

Remember your Leaders

A leadership conference brought me to The Gambia this week. Participants have told personal stories of leaders who made an indelible impact upon their lives. One by one they recalled teachers, parents, pastors, and coworkers who loved them and invested in them. The leaders they spoke about were diverse, and most have never made the headlines. But all these leaders shared one common quality: they had a long-view perspective. In sharp contrast to the FIFA execs, they imagined a better future, and they lived and led in that vision.

The writer of Hebrews calls readers to “remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” These remembered leaders intuit that time wakes the morn and smears the golden towers with dust.

Bobby Clinton said that good leaders have perspective, and better leaders have better perspective. I want to lead with the view that time unmasks falsehood and brings truth to light. And I hope to return to this very spot one day where children innocently play the world’s most popular game.