Qualifications of Leadership

 

It was the reprinting in nearly every newspaper in nearly every city in America of Cato’s Letters that provided our Founding Fathers with the intellectual fuel that fed the fires of armed resistance to tyranny. John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, the authors of Cato’s Letters, taught our ancestors as young men that kings are not above the law, and that when kings, legislators, or any other political officeholder (“magistrate” in the language of the time) forgets that he is the servant of the people and not their master, then the people are justified in reminding him of his role, peacefully, if possible, by force if necessary. On July 15, 1721, Letter No. 37 was published in London. In it, Gordon gave his readers several tests which when applied to magistrates would distinguish the “good” from the “evil” ones. The source of the standard by which the character of any magistrate could be measured was Algernon Sidney’s Discourses Concerning Government printed 1698. Gordon credits quoting Sidney to the letters being “an excellent writer” and to his Discourses Concerning Government being “eternally true.” Although it’s nearly unknown today, our Founding Fathers were of like mind when it came to Sidney and his book. In fact, Thomas Jefferson described Discourses Concerning Government as “the best elementary book of the principles of government, as founded in natural right which has ever been published in any language.”

Paraphrased and modernized in language to make it easier to understand and apply to our own time, first, here is Sidney’s list of what makes a man a good political officeholder: 1) Seeks the good of the people he represents; 2) Tries to be just and virtuous in his personal and public life; 3) Strives to be worthy of the faith and trust of his constituents; 4) Takes it upon himself to be a role model to young people by living a life devoted to truth and virtue; 5) Takes every opportunity to teach young people to love truth and virtue and to reject lies and wickedness, hoping to strengthen them before they reach the age at which temptations to lead a sinful and shameful life are strongest; 6) Does all of this, even if it might harm his career or negatively affect his popularity; 7) Always does what’s best for the people, regardless of whether it helps him or not; and, 8) Leads people to virtue.  

Now for the traits of an “evil” politician: 1) Believes that he is more important than the people he represents; 2) Does whatever it takes to stay in office, regardless of how it affects the people; 3) Sees government as a way to enrich himself; 4) Always decides how to vote on a measure by how it will affect his chances to get reelected, his public persona, or his personal wealth; 5) Never tries to find out how the people feel about the issues, as he believes himself superior to those who vote for him; 6) Tries to keep the people divided against each other and to stir up hatred among the people; 7) Knows that by keeping the people fighting each other they won’t ever realize that he is their common enemy; 8) Uses his influence to convince the people that the other party is filled with people who want to destroy them and how they are justified in avenging the wrongs done to them by the other party; 9) Calls it “sedition” or “rebellion” any time the people try to fight back and preserve their lives, liberty, and property; 10) Goes to any lengths, including lying, to hide his lack of integrity and criminal acts; 11) Teaches the youth that there is nothing wrong with lewdness or sexual immorality; and, 12) Uses all means at his disposal to keep the people ignorant, lazy, or afraid to stand up for their rights. Again, that was in the year 1721!

Not surprisingly, Gods qualifying characteristics for church leadership look like a blueprint for good political leadership – 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4. God has given us rights for life that we may be individuals to love and help one another. Government is to protect those rights.