Learn From John the Baptist

By Kim See-bong

Two thousand years ago there was a great man, and in fact, for his excellence in distinctiveness, intrepidity, self-annihilation, prescience, faithfulness and humility, even the word ``great'' is nothing but the revelation of human limits.

In a worldly way he was a great hero of the time. Thousands followed him and the multitude was so large that even the water in the Jordan, the biggest river in the area at the time, was not enough for him to baptize them all with.

Politically he was a revolutionary great enough to threaten the sovereignty of Herod, but to his people he was a great leader commanding reverence and obedience. No other being excelled him in distinctiveness.

By personality he was an example of intrepidity for his faith. In the presence of the crowd he blamed Herod for taking his brother's wife. He announced everything he wanted to say publicly. In him there was no guile. He commanded Jews to exercise virtue, both to be righteousness to one another, and to show piety toward God (the Works of Joseph).

When Herod put him to death lest there be a riot, until the moment of death he was calm and unmoved in his faith in what was right. He accepted his death. Nothing could outshine his courage.

In terms of leadership he knew his limits. He was well aware of the extent to which his role should be played. He was not swayed by the popularity the multitude bestowed on him. Common people are likely to wallow in such support from people and lose themselves in selfish desire or ambition. However, he found his bearings and never promised the people the moon. The more self-denial he practiced, the more people were arrested by his leadership.

As a leader he was prescient. He knew the one who was preordained to lead his people. ``I saw the holy spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him.'' In the presence of the multitude gathering to be baptized it was only he who realized the presence of the one they had been waiting for commanding the obedience of his people.

As a leader he was a paradigm of humility. Despite the fact that so many people followed him, he lowered himself saying ``I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord.'' He was fully aware of his preparatory role and drew the line between his own role and the role of the one for whom he was preparing.

He lowered himself further saying, ``He who is coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoelaces I am not worthy to unloose.''

He completely knew the role he should play in the passage of history and was gifted with the wisdom to comprehend it. He accepted his fate of annihilation to create a future for his people. He was fully aware that he was only a part of living history.

He made himself stand out by giving up everything he had and lowering himself. Such is the story of John the Baptist.

General elections are coming. The competition is said to be as difficult as any college entrance exam. Many seeking Parliament seats are heating up from the lingering cold of winter. To whoever wants to be a leader I'd like to ask the following questions and compare yourself to John the Baptist.

How distinctive are you in capability? How audacious are you in your faith? How do you control yourself? How foresighted are you? How selfless are you? How humble could you be in serving your people?

If you fail to keep up with John at all you should withdraw from the competition. Otherwise, you are only trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the people. It's a matter of shame. Don't commit an act to be ashamed before your grandchildren.

The writer is the principal of Polyglot Day School in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province. He can be reached at glsacademy@dreamwiz.com