Good Leaders

To many people today the Bible, and especially the Old Testament, is so remote as to be useless for modern living. It may well fascinate actors and authors by its Shakespearian language but it remains a dust collector when it comes to any modern application. Yet the other day I was looking at the prophet Jeremiah and found some very sound instruction for all leaders.

Every leader will work for and be an example of justice and right living.

The New Testament tells us that every leader from PM down is a minister of God and not just state. According to Romans 13 whenever elected that leader is no longer just a private citizen they are role models.

Are we to be concerned when our political leaders lie to us as has happened in Westminster in recent days or been economical with the truth? Yes, I think what is happening to the United Kingdom of GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland is a cause of great concern: “RIGHTEOUSNESS EXALTS A NATION”

Taking this onboard will have its affect upon how I use my vote and how I live my life. What it means is that I should vote for the people who will uphold righteousness and justice even if they are not in the party I usually support since God is in control and he uses all men to do His will.

Secondly leaders are to do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless and the widow. It is often said that a good way to judge a nation is by looking at the way it treats its minorities. Today the demographic shift in a place like North Belfast mirrors what is going on in much of these islands and indeed in Europe- today the church is challenged by the arrival on our doorstep of Africans and Asians, along with people from Eastern Europe and how are we to react?

Finally leaders are to make sure that the courts honest and just. We need a justice system which is both fair and is seen to be fair. This was to apply to both King Zedekiah and the foreigners who were invading the nation and its still true.

Even when the nation was suffering financially the king made sure that he had a mansion to live in, even when the temple was looted he had his big house. In our society we know of examples where this has happened but it must not happen when God’s people are in leadership. God used the great enemy from the north to discipline his people and He never failed to be in control. What is our hope for our children? That this same God is still in control and has set sound principles of leadership, which are as relevant today as in the far off days of Jeremiah.