SOCIOPATH is a word tossed around a lot lately, to describe presidential candidate Donald Trump.
I don’t hear people explain what a sociopath is, probably because it doesn’t fit into a sound bite.
For this election-day article, I thought I’d pass along some traits of a sociopath, followed by a list of Bible traits of a good leader.
How to spot a sociopath
The following definition and profile come from the Mayo Clinic.
“Antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is a mental condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others. People with antisocial personality disorder tend to antagonize, manipulate or treat others harshly or with callous indifference. They show no guilt or remorse for their behavior.”
- Disregard for right and wrong
- Persistent lying or deceit to exploit others
- Being callous, cynical and disrespectful of others
- Using charm or wit to manipulate others for personal gain or personal pleasure
- Arrogance, a sense of superiority and being extremely opinionated
- Repeatedly violating the rights of others through intimidation and dishonesty
- Impulsiveness or failure to plan ahead
- Hostility, significant irritability, agitation, aggression or violence
- Lack of empathy for others and lack of remorse about harming others
- Unnecessary risk-taking or dangerous behavior with no regard for the safety of self or others
- Poor or abusive relationships
- Failure to consider the negative consequences of behavior or learn from them
- Being consistently irresponsible and repeatedly failing to fulfill work or financial obligations
You can decide for yourself if you think Mr. Trump fits the definition. Or leave it to the pros.
Apostle Paul’s traits for a Christian leader
The following insights come from a letter Paul wrote to his friend Timothy (1 Timothy 3:1-7).
- faithful to his wife
- has self-control
- wise
- respected by others
- gentle
- peaceful
- not someone who loves money
Jewish sages on good leadership traits
- Humble. “ Pride is the first step toward destruction. Proud thoughts will lead you to defeat” (Proverbs 16:18).
- Slow to anger. “Fools are quick to express their anger, but wise people are patient and control themselves” (Proverbs 29:11).
- Open-minded. ““Fools, how long will you love being ignorant? How long will you make fun of wisdom? How long will you hate knowledge?” (Proverbs 1:22).
- Doesn’t exploit the poor. “A leader who takes advantage of the poor is like a hard rain that destroys the crops” (Proverbs 28:3).
- Generous. “Some people are greedy and never have enough. Good people are generous and have plenty” (Proverbs 21:26).
The question Christian voters face today is this: What kind of people are we?
The people for whom we vote will go a long way toward answering that question.
Ouch, Steve! You just disqualified just about everybody!
I didn’t. Those are Bible writers I’m quoting. We need to hang onto the goal of the kind of people we’re called to be I think.
I agree with this article, but according to the definition of a “sociopath”, doesn’t Hillary Clinton meet some of the criteria?
Disregard for right and wrong
Persistent lying or deceit to exploit others
Being callous, cynical and disrespectful of others
Using charm or wit to manipulate others for personal gain or personal pleasure
Arrogance, a sense of superiority and being extremely opinionated
Repeatedly violating the rights of others through intimidation and dishonesty
Lack of empathy for others and lack of remorse about harming others
Poor or abusive relationships
Failure to consider the negative consequences of behavior or learn from them
It is very difficult to support either one of these candidates being a Christian!
If a sociopath was a student of karate, you’d have your Yellow Belt Sociopath and your Black Belt Sociopath. The challenge would be, which one would you rather have to fight?
When one candidate made fun of the handicap, I knew I could not vote for him irregardless of anything else. I wish I had had your essay a month ago. I would have carried it around with me and gone door to door with it. Better than any political pamphlet that I have seen. I am making a hard copy for me to read for all future elections.
Thanks Marilyn. Your kind response is the opposite I’ve gotten from some folks who unsubscribed to the blog articles. Win some lose some, but always speak the truth as best you can and as politely as you can.
Last May, I read four books. Two on HRC and two on DT. One book pro and one con on each candidate. I already knew zi would not vote for Trump so maybe I was biased but I learned a lot about him from the man he hired to write his bio. He fired that man after 2/3 of the book was written because that man (sorry I am out of town and do not have the titles, etc of these books) had spoken to someone he did not like. One of the books on HRC was written by a former Secret Service man who hated the Clintons. He was more upset that he had been used to cover up Bill Clinton’s bad behaviors. Carl Bernstein wrote the other book on HRC. It was not pro or con just writing the history of her life. She has always treated people with love and respect. She was very private especially after being vilified for her health care plan and after Bill’s affairs. I do not blame her. People should have done their homework.