The Christian Response to Leaders

“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.”-Titus 3:1-2

Leadership is difficult. When you are placed in a position of leading a group you are placed under a microscope. As a leader, it doesn’t matter what move you make, there are going to be both positive and negative opinions.

Another aspect of leadership that is often hard to handle is attacks. Attacks are inevitable. People will attack you so quickly if you are not like them or think differently or choose to make decisions they do not agree with. It’s like they take it as a personal shot but, in all reality, the leader is merely making a decision they think is best for whoever or whatever they are responsible for.

I can only imagine what world leaders go through. Everybody has an opinion about how they should be doing their job. Yes, they are put in place to represent the people, but they are still human that have to work with many other humans to make decisions that influence the lives of many, many more humans!

Yet, for some reason, we can’t give grace when they don’t do what we think they should do.

The sad thing is, Christians seem to be very hard on their leaders, just as much as, if not more, than people who do not claim Christ as their Savior.

Why?

In the letter to Titus, Paul writes a clear message in chapter 3 on how people who follow Christ should treat their leaders. He makes a point to say, “be obedient”. The  part that is the most important, in my opinion, is  when he says “…do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone” (v.3).

It seems that we have decided to throw that section out the window in regards to some of our leaders. We will make up false accusations with no proof. We will spread hateful messages on social media and other outlets in order to show how horrible a leader they are.

How does this work?

When we are called to be peacemakers and lights to the world, yet we share hate speech and rhetoric to encourage anger and rage toward a leader, how can we be carriers of a gospel message of love and hope?

The people who are broken should and will continue to be hateful because they don’t know Jesus. However, those who are in the light of Christ, should speak truth, but do it in such a way that still dignifies people.

Yes, our leaders will make decisions that won’t always align with our values, even if they are Christian!

I cannot find a pastor in the world that has made all the right decisions, but that doesn’t make them any less of a pastor.

I have yet to find a human that has been diligent to keep all the commands of Jesus, but does that make them any less of a follower of Christ? I would say no. However, it does make them a hypocrite if they choose to throw hateful words about leaders who may not make the most “Christian” of decisions.

We need to be careful to listen to the Spirit of God in regards to leaders. We need to be wise in whom we choose to be in leadership positions. However, we also need to remember that God places everyone in leadership for a purpose, which means that we should focus on Christ and serve with peace and love.

Then, perhaps, people will see that we are different. They would see that we hold ourselves to a different standard. Perhaps, they will seek to understand our message of peace, hope, reconciliation, and love.

Maybe, they’ll follow our lead?

Peace and blessings friends.

QUESTION: How do you consider your leadership in the world around you?