WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT OF OUR LEADERS?

There have always been leaders. Ancient Israel was led by prophets, priests, and kings. Other cultures were led by witchdoctors and tribal chiefs; the Romans looked to the Emperor and Senate. Since the Enlightenment, the West has transitioned from following kings, governors, and priests to politicians and intellectuals. So, who are the leaders, and who defines the ideas they use to lead us?

The greatest shift over the last 200 years is the steady transition from viewing the world with concepts of truth and justice defined by God to a world with concepts of truth and justice defined by secular academics and elites. The news briefs and statements of the political, academic, and thought leaders of today are riddled with references to experts, studies, and science.

“The belief seems to be spreading that intellectuals are no wiser as mentors, or worthier as exemplars, than the witch doctors or priests of old. I share that skepticism. A dozen people picked at random on the street are at least as likely to offer sensible views on moral and political matters as a cross-section of the intelligentsia” (Paul Johnson, Intellectuals, 342).

So what do intellectuals have in common with leaders? Paul Johnson explains the ideas of the secular intellectuals like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx, and Charles Darwin have been the inspiration and guiding principles behind the totalitarian regimes of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Castro, Mussolini, and Pol Pot. Atheism, Marxism, and Communism have resulted in the slaughter of millions of people with counts ranging from 100 million to 149 million.

So how should we evaluate the leaders among us? It is simply foolish to not examine the lives and ideology of those who we listen to--or elect--to lead us. The founding fathers of the United States leaned heavily upon the Bible to help shape and inform the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights that outline our system of government. The ideas found in the Bible that address God’s expectations on those responsible for leading the nation are not binding for our nation, but they are critically important for any society desiring the best for their people.

Deuteronomy 17-18 provides God’s standard for those who would lead His people. In these verses, God gives instructions for how future kings, prophets, and priests should live and lead. There is an enduring truth that the higher the position, the greater the responsibility. Leadership is stewardship and every steward will one day give an account.