A Tale of Two Kingdoms

The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority (Ken Blanchard).

As I prepare to leave one position for another in just a few weeks, I ask myself this question--"What kingdom have I built here?" And it occurs to me that there are really two types of kingdoms one can build. But first, let's explore what I mean with that word--kingdom.  After all, kingdom is not a word much in vogue, especially with the advent of democracies, republics, and other such types of government.

What is this kingdom you speak of?

I love language. Unlike some world leaders, I don't invent words on the fly, but I do love words and where they come from, and "kingdom" is an interesting word. "King" has Germanic roots, stemming from the German König. In the Old English, it was written as cyning, and simply means "king." The prefix -dom is what makes this word interesting. Again, in the Old English, -dōm originally meant "rule" or "decree" (see the footnote for other fascinating usages of -dom).  Thus, a kingdom means a king ruling or decreeing. However, there is a definition in contemporary usage much more relevant to 21st-century Americans, and that is defining kingdom as "an area or sphere of influence or position." So, back to the question--what kind of kingdom (area or sphere of influence or position) have I built here?"

Two kingdoms

There are two kinds of "kingdoms" a leader can build, and they are diametrically opposed to each other. The 19th-century poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, aptly illustrates the first kingdom in his poem, Ozymandias:

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

What characteristics of this kingdom come to mind here? Take some time to think about it; I'll wait …. 

 As I read this poem, this kingdom can be described thusly--

self-centered,

isolated,

short-term,

temporary,

cold,

lifeless,

downward-looking

authoritarian.

Ozymandias, aka Pharaoh Ramses II, built a kingdom of great sphere and influence which nevertheless ended in ruin, as seen in Shelley's portrayal.  And he built his kingdom, it appears, with arrogance, pretention, mocking, and ostentation. Is this the kind of kingdom I wish to leave behind?

The second kingdom-type is illustrated by the Ashlar stones of the Temple wall in Jerusalem. When Herod the Great built the great Temple of Jerusalem, he had the top of Mount Moriah scraped level and then built a platform for the Temple to sit on. This platform was surrounded by these Ashlar stones and they are GINORMOUS! When my wife and I visited, the tour guide pointed out one that was the size of a Greyhound bus. One of the stones pictured here is 41 feet long and weighs 570-630 tons. It is 15 feet wide and 11.5 high. When the Romans came in 70 AD to tear the Temple down, they began by burning it (so hot some of the stones exploded!) and then attached ropes to the walls to pull the rest of it down. When they got to these Ashlar stones, they couldn't move them, and gave up. That same tour guide told us, "The Romans tried to get rid of the Jewish people; we are still here …".

With that in mind, what characteristics of this kingdom come to mind here? ….

This is what comes to mind for me:

Other-centered

Long-term

Future-oriented

Focused on greater things

Permanent and eternal

Foundational

Supportive.

The foundation still stands. In fact, the stones are so closely put together (and with no mortar) that one cannot slip a piece of paper between them! Is this the kind of legacy I wish to leave behind?

Building a kingdom that lasts

Let's be real--institutions and organizations are not built to encourage a Temple Mount kind of kingdom. The emphasis is not on influence that is life-giving, but on awards, promotion statements, stats, etc. How does one go about building a kingdom that is long-lasting? I consulted with two experts, and this is what they had to say.

Jesus

Jesus talks about this in at least two places.

1. In Matthew 6:9-10, part of what is known as "The Lord's Prayer," Jesus tells us to pray "Our Father in heaven, holy be Your Name; Your kingdom come and Your will be done …" (emphasis mine). Notice the emphasis is on the other, and not on self. His prayer is towards that which is greater than I and higher than my thoughts or imaginations!

2. In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus admonishes his listeners to "Build your house upon a solid rock." He refers to Himself, naturally, but can also refer to morals, values, ethics, building up, life, and healing!

   
   

Viktor Frankl

The famous Austrian psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, offers three areas of kingdom-building in his book, Man's Search for Meaning. He writes that these three areas are:

1. Creating a work or doing a deed;

2. Experiencing people and encountering others;

3. Finding meaning in suffering.

One final question!

What will you do today to work for an eternal kingdom and influence?

* -dom is used for many other nouns. It is used to form nouns denoting the following:

1. State or condition--freedom

2. Rank or status--earldom

3. Domain--fiefdom

4. Class of people or attitudes towards a class of people--officialdom.

Thanks, Merriam-Webster, for the assist!