Principled Selection of Righteous Leaders
For those that don’t understand my gist regarding choosing candidates for your next presidential election, I offer this explanation. I will say this once and I am not saying this again.
It doesn’t matter how much money a candidate has, if he or she is a businessman, a doctor, a professor, a community organizer, or talks the talk that people want to hear. I don’t know if you folks are Christian or not, but this is one issue that people seem to ignore or put aside when it comes to electing leaders. The word of God tells us to elect leaders from among ourselves! And this IS what matters! You cannot get by this biblical principle. We are told what qualities to look for:
“Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.” (Exodus 18:21, ESV)
The first quality is that the candidate must be “able.” They must be capable of the position they are seeking. The president of the United States of America needs more arrows in his quiver than just financial savoy. Yes, financial woes are a big problem for us now, but do not think that they are disconnected from many other issues. This brings us to the second quality.
They must be persons “who fear God.” What does that mean exactly? It means that first, they must believe in the Judeo/Christian God; second, they must believe that God is just, and third, they must believe that God will punish evil doers. This is a powerful force against doing wrong or evil. The financial woes in part are because we have a culture that is disintegrating. Too many Americans are looking for a free ride instead of a job. This can be a huge financial drain on any country. What about the political condition of the world? The size and force of our military must match and exceed the danger posed by the world today. This too has a financial weight to it. One cannot just downsize the military to save money if there is a looming threat abroad.
The third quality is that they must “be trustworthy.” How do we determine a person’s trustworthiness? We look at what they have already accomplished. Candidates that have sudden conversions on issues at the moment they run for office are extremely untrustworthy. These are the ones who know what you want to hear and are willing to speak it merely to get your vote. If they suddenly state, for instance, that they are pro-life when they were not previous to their running for office, do you really think that engenders trust? No! They must have exhibited these traits in their actions and occupations previous to seeking office. These are qualities that must be established “before” they are chosen.
The fourth and final quality is that they must “hate a bribe.” This shows that they are principled human beings who are not persuaded by gain. When you see someone who is constantly switching their positions on the issues, it is likely that they are doing so for personal gain. Principled people are not easily persuaded. The principled man must be shown that their position is wrong before they are willing to change it.
If Americans would merely put these four Godly biblical principles into use in their selection of leaders, this country might survive all of the opportunists who desire political office for personal gain. If, however, you are more persuaded by words than by actions, you will likely be fooled into supporting someone who does not “do” what they said they would do. Remember, we are all responsible for every choice we make, so don’t compromise.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger,
Kathryn Colton Shaw
Mark David Shaw
