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Technorati“It’s the first thing we need to look for in a leader and the first thing we need to pray for in a leader,” he said.
Equally important in a leader, according to Warren, is humility – the second characteristic to look for.
“The worst sin is not adultery. The worst sin is not murder …. The Bible says the worst sin is pride,” Warren pointed out.
“That is the root of every other problem in your life,” he added.
Going further, Warren said humility is not denying strengths, but being honest about weaknesses.
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself,” he continued. "It’s thinking less about yourself.”
Warren said there are two ways that God tests humility – through criticism and through praise.
“Every time you get criticized or every time you get praised, God is saying ‘This is a test,’” Warren said, encouraging the congregants to check if they handle criticism pridefully or defensively and if they handle praise arrogantly.
“Do you want to know how to be humble? Simple. Get interested in other people,” he exhorted.
“When you’re humble … you just don’t think about yourself. You’re so busy thinking about others, thinking about God, thinking about what others need that you’re just oblivious about how you appear, how you look.”
And lastly, Warren said God blesses leaders who share with generosity – the third characteristic to look for.
“Generosity is a big issue with God because it makes us like Him,” he said. “The hallmark of whether a person is genuinely a loving person, genuinely a compassionate person is their generosity.
“You cannot say I am a loving person and not be a generous person,” he claimed.
“If you want to be a leader of influence and honor, you must learn the principle of generosity.”
Warren recalled how both Obama and McCain had discussed with him the need for America to be a blessing to others, as America is arguably the most blessed nation in the world.
While the responses from the White House hopefuls on Saturday were widely divergent on a number of issues, as expected, such as their opinions of the present Supreme Court justices, the two senators notably agreed on what America’s great moral failure is – the lack of selflessness.
“I think America’s greatest moral failure in my lifetime is that we still don’t abide by that basic precept in Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me,” responded Obama during his session with Warren as McCain supposedly waited in “a cone of silence.”
“There is a pervasive sense, I think, that this country is wealthy and powerful as we still don’t spend enough time thinking about the least of these,” he added.
McCain similarly said in his response that America’s greatest moral failure “has been throughout our existence, perhaps that we have not devoted ourselves to causes greater than our self interest although we’ve been at the best at it of anybody in the world.”
In his sermon Sunday, titled "The Kind of Leader America Needs," Warren reiterated the senators' sentiments, pointing to a number of verses including Luke 12:48.
“We have not been blessed just so we can enjoy it; we have been blessed to bless the rest of the world,” Warren stated. “And that involves leaders that understand the principle of generosity.” Continue »
Joe12234 »
Agree: 
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