Worldly Leaders
It seems reasonable to assume that everyone would prefer a leader a lot like themselves. However, I don’t believe that is actually true. Sure, most people would prefer being the one in charge. It becomes different when it’s just someone like them in charge.
Ask people what they would do if they were King of the world for the day and you’d get all kinds of responses. How many of them are sustainable and benefit the people of the world more than it benefits the King-for-a-day? In reality, many people’s first impulse when given authority is self-serving and all the grandiose plans they may imagine would ask others to sacrifice far more than they would themselves.
Jesus describes the worlds leaders this way:
But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
Matthew 20:25
While many are eager to lord over others, everyone grumbles when lorded over.
Leadership Foundation
Is there a better way or is leadership necessarily tyrannical? Thankfully there is a way in which people who are entrusted to authority can be trusted to exercise it well.
In the history of the nation of Israel, they had both good and bad leaders. Jehoshaphat would be considered one of the good leaders, though not without his own mistakes (largely stemming from his cozy relationship with Ahab).
After going into battle with Ahab (who tried to make him the target to protect himself and ended up being shot by an arrow fired at random anyway) Jehoshaphat returned to Judah with a will to reform his kingdom for the better.
He recognized the need for local judges so that they could resolve disputes throughout all the area he was responsible for. His secret for good judges was to appoint them with the understanding that they would answer to God for every ruling they made. This changes how a leader views their responsibilities dramatically. Instead of seeking to serve themselves or even the establishment that gives them their power, they served God, who’s standard is always good.
He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment. Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality or taking bribes.”
2 Chronicles 19:5-7
Omnipresent Accountability
A leader who believes he is accountable only to himself will be a tyrant. One who believes himself accountable to another human boss will seek only to make himself look good before the higher-ups. Even a leader who fears the people will do terrible things, so long as it creates an image popular with the majority.
However, when one believes himself accountable to God he cannot depend upon deception or manipulation to please the one he serves. God knows even the leader’s thoughts. There is nothing that can be hidden and no way to “look good” other than to actually be good. Hypocrisy will never stand.
A person who fears God is the only one who truly feels the weight of leadership, because he labors not for any benefit of his own but makes an effort to faithfully do what is right. There’s no way to do wrong “for the greater good” because God requires that we always do what is just and good. The result?
When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
Proverbs 29:2
When the people are groaning, though they may hate righteousness, what they’re really longing for is righteous leaders anyway. They may hate the leaders, but their lives will still be better for it. What the world needs now are those unafraid to serve God even when it takes sacrifice, may not be the easiest way to prove yourself to a boss, or might be seen as unpopular. It’s what even the unbelieving world is groaning for, though they’ll likely never realize.
