MOSES, FDR, World Leaders
A “Moses leader’ is metaphorically referred to as someone
who capably leads his people through an extremely difficult situation safely to
the other side. My personal business
experience revealed that it generally takes a different style of leadership to guide a
company through trying times of survival versus one who takes the baton and
leads the surviving company into more prosperous quarters.
Moses was one of the greatest Biblical leaders of the Old
Testament and led the Israelites out of Egyptian captivity into the Judean
desert for forty years seeking the “promised land” in Canaan. Franklin D. Roosevelt led the United States
as president into his fourth term through the Great Depression and World War
II.
Historians and political scientists consistently rank FDR as
one of the most influential figures of the 20th century and consider him along
with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as our three greatest
presidents. His biographer Jean Edward
Smith wrote that “He lifted himself from a wheelchair to lift the nation from
its knees.” Moses is mentioned more often
in the New Testament than any other Old Testament figure. He along with Elijah is present in Jesus’
transfiguration on a high mountain. He
lifted the people of Israel out of slavery into a hardened nation of
consequence.
Moses led the people to the banks of the Jordan River in sight
of the promised land. He passed his
authority to Joshua and then went up to the top of Pisgah on Mount Nebo where
he died at the age of one hundred and twenty.
FDR was in declining health as World War II was drawing to a close and
traveled to Warm Springs, Georgia for rehabilitation and rest where he died of
a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 63. His
successor, President Truman, declared victory in Europe the following month,
followed by the surrender of Japan in another four months.
Ironically, both of these great figures in human history
were brought through trying times as they led their people to the brink of the
promised land and were permitted a brief view of their ultimate goal before
their life expired. And then another
personality led the people into the next phase of human history.
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