The Iroquois and the Soap Company Have It Right

“In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”

-From the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy

I found this quote on the back of a soap bottle from Seventh Generation. It makes me wonder how many times we actually think about the consequences of our actions. Do we even ask ourselves how it will affect us next year? The Iroquois looked 350 years ahead. It might surprise you if you consider what types of decisions have lasting affects: That movie you watched, that book you read, how you use your money, where you go to church-or whether you go to church, even what you eat. Will your entertainments, your friends, your church, etc. lead to your descendants ending up in Hell? It may not do anything to you, but over time it will most likely open the door to worse and worse. Will your health choices show your grandchildren farther down the path to cancer or diabetes? Maybe you’re reading this thinking “I don’t plan on having children or grandchildren”. Well, what about your friends and their children? Your family members and their descendants? You may not realize it, but you have many people watching you, some of whom will follow you. I’ll end with a verse that compliments this: “Ponder the path of thy feet.” -Proverbs 4:26a.

Leadership

Leadership is a great and serious responsibility, that is why God set strict standards for leaders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. “A bishop then must be blameless…patient….not a novice…must have a good report…” “Likewise must the deacons be grave…faithful in all things…” Failure to measure up to those standards can have serious, far reaching consequences. The reason is because as a leader you are a role model for everyone who is following you. Esther 1:10-18 The king commanded the queen to come out so everyone could see her beauty, but she refused. What was so bad about that? Something was very bad about that; every woman in the kingdom looked up to the queen. As soon as they saw that she totally refused to follow her husband’s wish and got away with it, they would be doing the same thing. “The queen can do it, why can’t I?” This was not the way it was supposed to be; the king had to do something about it. So what was the end result? The queen lost her position of authority. The king found a new queen. When a leader seriously fails, he loses the respect of all his followers and ends up finding a new job.