As those who want to see the kingdom of God continue to expand on the earth, we must be able to answer the question presented in the title of this post.
As with most lofty matters, one must always start with the Bible. If one starts with reason, untethered to the Word of God, one can justify just about anything. If you want to see reason running amok on a daily basis just tune into the popular prime time hosts on MSNBC or Fox News.
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
Proverbs 29:2
If there is any doubt about whether the Lord values righteousness and ethics in political leaders, one only need read the Biblical accounts of the kings of Israel. Even a cursory review reveals the Lord generally blessed righteous rulers and judged the wicked.
As much as the world pretends otherwise, one cannot compartmentalize character from the rest of who we are. Our character informs our worldview and policies and is the basis for our conduct. We cannot be separated from who we are.
At the same time, is character enough to make a good political leader?
Let’s take Jehoshaphat as an example. apparently was a good man who sought to follow the will of God, opposed idolatry, and encouraged the worship of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 17:3-6. He even gave inspired instruction to Judah’s judiciary. 2 Chronicles 19:4-7. Yet, he made the horrible decision to enter into an alliance with King Ahab that dragged Judah into an unnecessary war. 2 Chronicles 18.
Or how about a more modern example? James Earl Carter was undoubtedly a very good man who loved God, which was proven by his conduct before, during, and after his stint as the 39th President of the United States. Although he certainly faced some brutal challenges and obtained some notable achievements, people were so disenchanted with his presidency, they elected Ronald Regan over him in a landslide in 1980. Goodness is important, and competence is important, but both are necessary in making a good president.
The challenges is that while both goodness and competence are necessary in a good leader, both are not always easily evaluated. Given the intense scrutiny of the modern media, we can usually know what we need to know about a person’s character prior to casting a vote.
The same cannot be said about one’s competence. If a candidate performed an executive role such as governor, mayor, or a chief executive officer of a large company, we can likely make an informed decision. If the candidate has no executive experience and only legislative experience as a member of the House of Representatives or as a Senator, we may know something about their policies but little about their leadership.
Because both goodness and competence are necessary to being a good political leader, and we can only determine one’s goodness with any certainty, then that determination should be dispositive. In other words, as Christians, we should insist on a candidate with good character.
What to do when one is faced with a choice of candidates with poor character, and the importance of one’s policy decisions relative to one’s character or competence are questions for a different post. What I think is clear with regard to the most recent U.S. presidential election is if evangelicals had insisted on candidates with character in our presidential primaries, they would not have ended up with the decision they faced in the general election. GS