Not Kingly, but Christlike Leadership
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that His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. So man today must learn
that God is supreme. When men gain success in the work of the Lord,
it is because God has given them this success, not for their own glory,
but for God’s glory. He who seeks to steal a ray of light from the glory
of the Lord will find that he will be punished for his presumption.
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David declares, “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spread-
ing himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was
not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.”
Let a people boast themselves in their own wisdom, let them exalt
self and indulge pride, and the result will surely follow. As surely
as the sun shines by day, so surely does pride go before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall. Let a church become proud and
boastful, and that church will be laid low. Let those in charge of any
institution become presumptuous, taking to themselves the credit for
the success that has come to them in certain lines, let them glory in
their wisdom and their efficiency, and they will certainly be brought to
humiliation.—
Letter 114, 1903
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