Bible on politics: What to look for in a leader

What Christians look for in a leader

I NEED TO WEIGH IN on the upcoming election from a Bible point of view—it’s the Bible on politics.

Here’s why. I hear a lot of Christians talking about the election and using their Christianity to justify their vote. But their reasons don’t seem to track with the Bible or Christian values.

Policy over person

The other day I read in social media a Christian friend’s long list of policy reasons for why she is going to vote for a candidate who clearly does not measure up to Christian character.

That Christian lady said she will be voting for policy over person.

I thought, “Really?”

Bible on politics

What Paul looked for in leaders

When Paul sent Timothy, his best friend and colleague, to scout for people who could help lead the Christian movement, did he give him a checklist of policies to look for in a leader?

He didn’t even tell Timothy to look into their theological beliefs. Paul must have figured if they could find the right people and convince them about Jesus, those people could become leaders who would do the right thing.

Paul didn’t give Timothy anything that even resembled a policy checklist. Instead, in a personal letter (1 Timothy 3), he gave him a checklist of character traits to measure the worth of the person.

“Carefully vet the candidates. Give them the job only if they meet the highest standards of respectability.”

Those standards:

“Live a life that’s squeaky clean and above suspicion….[loyal to partner], good-mannered, even-tempered, respectable, approachable, and a gifted teacher…. We’re looking for leaders who are kind, not violent or always getting into arguments. And we sure don’t want … leaders who have fallen in love with money.”

What leaders shouldn’t look like

Now it’s a fact, Paul was looking for church leaders. But are political leaders any less important to Christians who want to live in a Christian nation?

Paul gave Titus, another colleague, similar advice. But in a letter (Titus 1) Paul also warned him not to choose certain people as leaders.

Here’s what they shouldn’t be: “snooty, bad-tempered, a drunk, violent… greedy.”

Here’s what the leader should be: “hospitable, a huge fan of goodness, even-tempered, fair, devoted to God, and disciplined…. there are plenty of rebels out there—empty-headed yap, yap, yappers and con artists….chronic liars, savage brutes, and lazy bums. They’re good for nothing but feeding themselves.”

Skipping the long list of reasons not to vote for someone

I want to give you a long list of reasons why no one—Christian or otherwise—should vote for one particular candidate this November. But my wife told me not to. And I don’t need to. Thanks to live TV, most of us have seen many of the reasons with our own eyes.

Funny-odd that people try to convince us not to believe what we saw. They pound us with their “narrative” over and over, as though repetition can churn lies into truth, like milk into butter.

Actually, it can do that if we let it.

Please, don’t let it.

Many of us have already seen and personally experienced how the savage character of one person can break families, end the best of friendships, stir riots, and even get people killed with nothing more than a few words.

Where is Christ in that?

Should we forgive people who show no remorse?

Some say they see Christ in his willingness to forgive. And they say we should follow his example.

But Christ forgave the repentant. To political leaders of his day who showed zero remorse for their failures, sins, and exploitation of others, he had this to say:

“You’re in it for you. You’re like a garden graveyard, manicured and presentable on the surface. Down deep, you’re full of dead men’s bones and rotting guts that pollute the dirt” (Mathew 23:27).

That’s stern.

But we don’t have to use stern words like that. Today, our vote does the talking for us—all 161 million of us who are eligible to vote.

For more on leadership advice from the Bible, see the Casual English Bible® blog article, “Bible pro tips: What good leadership looks like.” It releases on Wednesday, October 24, 2024.

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