When a 6-plus magnitude deep earthquake registered a few weeks ago, one Earthquake Watch Channel issued an immediate warning that a magnitude 7-plus shallow earthquake would probably strike Turkey.              

The Channel Host gave advice to prepare for that possibility. Sadly a week later not one but two 7-plus magnitude earthquakes struck with devastating effect. Official earthquake-monitoring bodies, who had the same information, issued no warning, perhaps because they believed that earthquakes cannot be predicted. But they were wrong.

Much later, speaking with students at a university, I mentioned the earthquake. They all looked surprised and said, ‘What earthquake?’                                                                                         

Learning and intelligence are important but far more important is where our focus lies. Jesus taught us that the two most important priorities for human wellbeing are love and respect for our Creator and love and respect for others, who are children of the same Creator.

When Jesus, who was the incarnation of God’s love, knelt down to wash the feet of his disciples he set the benchmark for all leaders to follow.

The focus of real leadership should be on serving the people – not serving one’s self. When disaster strikes ordinary people always pitch in to help. Unfortunately most world leaders today fall short of the example of Jesus. Only when we put Love at the centre of our lives are we truly prepared for any eventuality. When Love and service become the basis of all global leadership we will no longer need to fear for the future.

John Pickering - www.onelight2beyond.com

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