The Greeks believed that the source of all inspiration and creativity came from outside of you – the Muse. We get the English word ‘music’ from this Muse.
Your heart can hear that music all the time.
Your head can only hear this music when it is connected with your heart.
The problem for many leaders is that we are (with good reason!) afraid of the power and potential that comes from a connected heart and head. This is scary good, but not within our ability to completely control. It defies our comfortable ideas of being at the center of the universe. So we sever the connection between heart and head, at least much of the time.
Leadership maturity is about keeping heart and head working together appropriately. It’s always a danger to lead only with your heart or only your head. We must be humble enough to remember that both have led us wrongly in the past, and will again in the future. (My mother loved to remind me how absolutely convinced I was in 4th grade that Brenda Tucker was the only woman I would ever love.)
I haven’t left orthodox Christian thinking. I am convinced that the true Muse is the Holy Spirit. Not all my subscribers are Christians, of course, though I am not shy about expressing my faith in Christian terms.
The thing that I fear too many Christians miss is that the Holy Spirit speaks to all people, not just Christian believers. Likewise all Creation speaks and tells of the glory of God. Now, can all people hear the Holy Spirit? And does the Holy Spirit speak the same way to everyone? No to both questions. There are some things that only redeemed children of God will be told, or even be able to comprehend.
There is also a false Muse, which some people have sought. This is the voice that fuels much of the evil that men do. We study God’s Word, the Bible, to learn what the character of God’s voice sounds like, and learn to distinguish the Muses.
Here’s a useful test when you think you’ve heard a voice of command or suggestion: Would doing this make Satan happy or please God? I have multiple experiences where a thought pops to mind about doing this or that, or speaking to someone, and my initial reaction is “Uhm, no.” And then I apply the test, “Would Satan ask you to _?” Quite frequently the answer is No, and now… it’s down to my obedience.
