The whole political, social and economic structure of any society is largely determined by its answer to this pressing question. “What is man that thou art mindful of him?” 2 This question flowing from the lips of the Psalmist is one of the most important questions facing any generation. We can taIk all we want to about saving souls from hell and preaching the pure and simple gospel, but unless we preach the social gospel our evangelistic gospel will be meaningless.” 1 King draws upon Harry Emerson Fosdick in calling for “a church that shall be a fountainhead of a better social order. They are the people that find meaning and purpose and a higher calling in their daily endeavors.In this handwritten and dated version of a sermon King had been developing since his seminary years, he stresses that all people are created in God’s image and bear a responsibility to live accordingly. Transformational leaders are found at every level in an organization.
“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” It is not the position of importance, but the painstaking effort to do well what uplifts others that matters. What is a truth that is important for you to speak? “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” Speaking truth to power in a way that is non-judgmental is at the core of bringing about change. “Ten thousand fools proclaim themselves into obscurity, while one wise man forgets himself into immortality.” In our distracted, noisy world where many clamor for attention, MLK reminds us to focus on the quiet inner satisfaction of a small difference made, rather than the hunger of the ego wanting to stand above all others.
In this quote MLK invites us to expect disappointment, and despite this, to prevail and persevere in our efforts. “There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.” Failure and disappointment are inevitable companions to any worthy effort. “People fail to get along because they fear each other they fear each other because they don’t know each other they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” In a world today that is torn apart by polarized views, we must dig deeper to find the common humanity and aspirations each of us holds. “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” MLK reminds us of the power we have as leaders to listen deeply and bring people together in discourse.
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