Weekly Opinion Editorial
QUALIFICATIONS
OF A LEADER!
by Steve Fair
Bill Crocker is the former Republican
National Committeeman from Texas. He
served on the RNC for eight years (2 terms) and was General Counsel for the
committee for the final year of his tenure.
Crocker is a Baylor graduate and a dedicated Christian as well as an
able theologian. At last week’s RNC
meeting he told me the Bible clearly outlined the qualifications for leaders. “Exodus
18:21 gives us clear qualifications for those who are in leadership,”
Crocker said. “Read it and see if you agree,” he challenged. Exodus 18:21 says, “ Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as
fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be
rulers of thousands, and rulers
of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:” After looking at the passage and studying it
within the context, I agree with Crocker.
In
this passage, Moses is being advised by his father-in-law, Jethro, on what attributes
the leaders in the nation of Israel should possess before being appointed to a
position of supervision. The passage
lists
four qualifications for leaders in secular society.
First,
secular leaders should be ‘able’ men.
That means a candidate for office must be capable and qualified for the
position. They should not be a novice or
amateur in life or in politics. John
Gill says this qualification means they are be ‘men of strong and robust
constitutions who have strength of heart, are not afraid to do justice and
boldness to deliver the oppressed from the hands of the oppressor.’ All too often, those who win elections are
trained on the job by special interest groups.
They often have no clue what the job involves and it shouldn’t surprise
us when they disappoint.
Second, leaders must ‘fear God.’
John McArthur says those who fear God have a reverential respect and awe
of God. He says understanding the
attributes of God is critical to learning to ‘fear God.’ McArthur says teaching that God has the right
to punish, chasten and judge His creatures will produce a ‘healthy sense of
apprehension’ in a person’s life. Alexander McLaren says, “The fear of God
underlies the noblest lives. “ We live
in a society where the fear of God is ignored and ridiculed by our leaders and
citizens alike. Solomon said the fear of God was the beginning of wisdom.
Third,
leaders must ‘hate covetousness.’
Covetousness is defined as being inordinately or wrongly desirous of wealth
or possessions; greedy especially the wealth or possessions of another. The Bible widely condemns covetousness as a
root sin. Covetousness is at the heart
of selfishness. John Piper defines covetousness
as desiring
something so much that you lose your contentment in God. Those who want
something for nothing are covetous. We live
in a very covetous society. Good leaders
understand government shouldn’t do anything that expands or embraces covetousness,
no matter how much their constituency may clamor.
Fourth,
leaders must be truthful. Matthew
Poole says this means not only hating lies, but slanders as well. John Gill
says real leaders should take pain to get at the truth of a cause and discourage
the most insignificant falsehood. What
is often called ‘political spin’ is simply lying to make a candidate or elected
official look more favorable. Honesty is
not the best policy to the average politico. Americans have become accepting of lying as
standard operating procedure in politics.
It is clear many of our current elected
officials in America are not qualified and truthful. They don’t hate covetousness or fear
God. They often campaign one way and
vote the other. They are willing to lie,
cheat and steal to win an election and to stay in office. Until American Christians vet candidates more
thoroughly and apply the standards God outlines in this passage, we can expect our
leaders will remain ineffective and disappointing.
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