How Would Jesus Vote - Part 4

How Would Jesus Vote

Principles of Scripture to Guide Christians

as They Face Another Election

Part 4

            In my last blog I showed you from the scriptures the qualities that make up a good leader. I want to now turn my attention to what scripture has to say about the qualities that bad leadership exhibits and the effect it has on those under it. We need to keep in mind that all of us are leaders at one level or another. So, as you read this blog, examine yourself to see what type of leader you are. Do you exhibit any of these negative qualities? If so, then it is time to make a change and begin to replace those negative qualities with the opposite positive quality. Let’s get started.

            Wicked leadership is addressed several times in the book of Proverbs, so that is probably a good place to start. First of all, we probably should define what wickedness is, for without a proper understanding of the term we might label the wrong people as wicked. A dictionary definition of wicked is “evil or morally bad in principle or practice; sinful, iniquitous.” Additional definitions include “distressingly severe”, “unjustifiable, dreadful, beastly”, “having a bad disposition, ill-natured, mean”, “spiteful, malevolent, vicious”, and “extremely troublesome, or dangerous”.

            These are certainly good terms to describe a wicked person, but in a society where the meanings of words are being twisted and applied to the opposite of what they actually meant, it can be relatively easy to misidentify a good person as wicked or a wicked person as good. Terms such as “mean” can be interpreted many different ways. Today we see colleges and universities creating “safe zones” because of the “mean speech” of someone who simply disagrees with a particular point of view. So, rather than relying solely on a dictionary definition of wicked, we should see how the term is used in the Bible so we can see how God defines the term.

            The very first use of the word Hebrew word for wicked is found in the story of the Garden of Eden where there was a tree in the garden that was called the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. The word for evil here is the same Hebrew word also translated in other places as the word wicked. The Hebrew word is “ra”. A wicked person in Hebrew is a “rasha”. The first usage of the term is found in Genesis 6 where God sees that the wickedness of man on the earth had become great, or widespread. God saw that the thoughts of men’s hearts was only evil continually. At that point the wickedness of man was so widespread that only Noah and his family were saved when the earth was destroyed by the flood.

            The next time we run into these terms is in the story of Sodom in Genesis 13 and 18. Once again we see that when the wickedness of the people had completely taken over the society, God brought destructive judgment to them. This pattern is continued throughout the Old Testament. But, what are these people doing that causes God to classify them as wicked?

            In Exodus 9 we have a portion of the story of Moses and his battle with the Pharaoh of Egypt over letting the children of Israel leave. Because Pharaoh would not let them go, God sent a judgment of hail upon the land of Egypt, but not on the children of Israel. Pharaoh then admitted in Exodus 9:27 that he and his people were wicked.

            Once the people of Israel had left Egypt God began to give them His laws. In Exodus 23:1 God gave them this law: ““You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand.” (NLT) A few verses later God adds to this command with this command in verse 7: “You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand.” These are just a couple of examples, but as you continue to look through the usage of the term “wicked” or “wickedness” throughout the Old Testament, they all boil down to the same basic concept. A wicked person is someone who raises their hand against an innocent or righteous person. They attack good and godly people. It can be a physical attack, it can be a legal attack, or it can be a sexual attack. In all cases though, these things are called wicked. So, now that we have a little bit of an understanding of what it means to be wicked, we can now look at what the Bible says about wicked leadership.

            Proverbs 28:15 (NLT)

A wicked ruler is as dangerous to the poor as a roaring lion or an attacking bear.

            Right away we see that there is danger to the poor from a wicked ruler. This reiterates what I just said about the wicked attacking the innocent or righteous.

            Proverbs 29:2 (NLT)

When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.

            Have you ever felt your spirit in you groaning over what people in authority may be doing to oppress innocent or righteous people? I just read a news article this morning about a woman who had sued a couple of police officers in Kansas because they had, without justification or provocation, demanded entry into her home and after allowing her to pray, they told her to stop praying. You can read the story at this link. http://www.wnd.com/2016/10/stunner-cops-tell-woman-to-stop-praying/

            This next verse gives us some insight into what type of people will surround a wicked leader.

            Proverbs 29:12

If a ruler pays attention to liars, all his advisers will be wicked.

            If the advisers for a ruler are wicked, from what we have already learned about the wicked, wouldn’t you expect that their administration would be oppressive? Wouldn’t you expect that they would especially target those who are righteous? Yes, you should expect that. In just this past week I found two stories of the oppression and suppression of Christians in Russia and China. In both countries, moves have now been made by the government to outlaw Christian activities and evangelism. Those governments can be classified as wicked, based on the Biblical description of wickedness.

            This verse ought to also cause us to pay attention to the things that the people around a leader are saying. For if those people lie, for whatever reason they might give, then that administration will move in the direction of oppression. It will particularly be bad for the poor people and for the Christians who are practicing their faith, not just at home or at church, but who may live out their faith at their place of employment.

            Think back over the past several years and recall the stories you’ve seen or read about how Christians have been sued, or placed in jail because they refused service to someone who wanted them to endorse their wicked lifestyle. There is a difference between a person simply living a perverse and wicked lifestyle and the attempt to force godly people to acknowledge, accept and endorse their lifestyle as good and wholesome. Once that line is crossed and good people are persecuted for refusing to declare wickedness as acceptable, God’s judgment is not far off.

            Another negative quality that leaders should not have is that of foolishness. The character of a fool is mentioned many times in the scripture. There are so many aspects of what a fool looks like, how they talk, how they behave and how they relate to others, that I simply do not have time to go over them all. But, I’ve put together a little list of just a few of the characteristics of a fool for you to examine. Look over this list carefully and see if you can identify people you may have known or heard of who would fall into this category of being a fool.

Attitude Toward Education:

            The fool despises wisdom and instruction                                                        – Proverbs 1:7

            The fool hates knowledge                                                                               – Proverb 1:22

            The foolish woman is naïve and ignorant                                                          – Proverbs 9:13

            The fool dies because he lacks understanding                                                  – Proverbs 10:21

            The fool does not know how to teach knowledge to others                                 – Proverbs 15:7

            The fool likes to share his thoughts, but does not enjoy understanding               – Proverbs 18:2

            The fool despises wisdom given by others                                                       – Proverbs 23:9   

Attitude Toward Work:

            The fool is complacent                                                                                   – Proverbs 1:32

            The fool becomes the servant of the wise                                                        – Proverbs 11:29

            The fool is a daydreamer                                                                                – Proverbs 17:24

            The fool is unreliable                                                                                      – Proverbs 26:6

Attitude Toward Religion:

            The fool's heart rages against God                                                                 – Proverbs 19:3

            The fool denies the existence of God                                                             – Psalm 14:1

            The fool spurns God's name                                                                          – Psalm 74:18

Attitude Toward Correction:

            The fool doesn't learn from discipline                                                              – Proverbs 17:10

            The fool brings punishment upon himself                                                        – Proverbs 19:29

Attitude Toward Pleasure:

            The fool enjoys the foolishness of others                                                        – Proverbs 15:14

            The fool wastes his wealth                                                                            – Proverbs 21:20

            The fool thinks of nothing but pleasure                                                           – Eccl. 7:4

The Fool's Speech:

            The fool's mouth gets him in trouble                                                              – Proverbs 10:14

            The fool spreads slander about other people                                                  – Proverbs 10:18

            The fool says stupid things                                                                          – Proverbs 12:23

            The fool says things that come back to hurt him                                            – Proverbs 14:3

            The fool lies                                                                                                – Proverbs 14:8

            The fool is quarrelsome                                                                                – Proverbs 20:3

            The fool talks and talks and talks                                                                  – Eccl. 10:12, 14

The Fool's Behavior:

            The fool displays dishonor                                                                            – Proverbs 3:35

            The foolish woman is boisterous                                                                   – Proverbs 9:13

            The fool views wicked behavior as sport                                                        – Proverbs 10:23

            The fool considers it wrong to abandon their evil ways                                    – Proverbs 13:19

            The fool will always repeat his foolishness                                                     – Proverbs 26:11

            The fool is inclined to wickedness                                                                 – Isaiah 32:6

The Fool and Family:

            The fool destroys their own home                                                                – Proverbs 14:1

            The fool doesn't belong in luxurious surroundings                                          – Proverbs 19:10

            The fool destroys his family heritage                                                            – Proverbs 19:13

The Fool and Relationships:

            The fool hurts those who are closest to them                                                – Proverbs 13:20

            The fool cannot be trusted                                                                           – Proverbs 14:8

            The fool is more dangerous than an angry wild animal                                    – Proverbs 17:12

            The fool rages or laughs during controversy with a wise man                          – Proverbs 29:9

            The fool does not help meet the needs of those around them                          – Isaiah 32:6

The Fool and His Emotions:

            The fool cannot control his emotions when things don't go his way                   – Proverbs 12:16

            The fool always loses his temper                                                                  – Proverbs 29:11

            The fool has anger hidden inside him                                                             – Eccl. 7:9

            The fool is easily frustrated                                                                           – Job 5:2

The Fool's Attitude:

            The fool thinks his way is always right                                                           – Proverbs 12:15

            The fool is arrogant and careless                                                                   – Proverbs 14:16

            The fool trusts in his own heart                                                                      – Proverbs 28:26

The Fool's Death:

            The fool will die before his time                                                                      – Eccl 7:17

            I think you can see from this blog that it is not good to be under the leadership of a fool nor of the wicked. Both of them can be dangerous. Both of them can bring about an oppressive state. As Christian parents and grandparents, we need to watch carefully the development of our children and grand-children, because we do not want to produce foolish or wicked children. For those in the work place, if you find yourself under the leadership of a foolish or wicked person, you might want to seriously consider finding a different job.

            Finally, as Christians, we need to prayfully and thoughtfully consider the type of administration the two primary candidates for President would bring with them.