Trust

Good Morning!

I don’t use this forum often to comment on news items … but sometimes I have to say what I think.

I was reading on the report on Representative Anthony Weiner choosing to resign from Congress on CNN yesterday. I took a couple of minutes to read the comments of readers and one caught my eye. The commentator lamented Representative Weiner resigning, saying that what he did in his private life did not matter – that is why they call it “private”. Well, to put it succinctly, I disagree – and not a little bit, strongly disagree.

What we do in our private lives is very important. Let’s take a gander at Paul’s letter to Timothy about those who would be leaders (overseers):

1 Timothy 3:1-7 New International Version (NIV)
Qualifications for Overseers

1 Here is a trustworthy saying:
Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.

2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full[a] respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)

6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.

7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

Footnotes:
a. 1 Timothy 3:4 Or him with proper

Okay, I can already hear you … what does this have to do with the secular world? Shouldn’t our “religion’ remain in the church and not outside – after all, we have separation of church and State?

I believe Paul’s wisdom extends beyond the walls of the Church. And it is a fallacy to believe that the Constitution dictates the separation of the church and state. But let’s deal with why Paul’s wisdom is applicable.

Why does Paul say the overseer must be above reproach? Why does he point to faithfulness to the wife as a proving point? Simply this – when we take a wife, we make a life commitment. The person to whom we make that commitment becomes a part of us. If we are not faithful to our commitment to the one dearest to us, how can we be trusted to keep our other commitments to those who are distant?

Failure to keep our commitment to our spouse indicates the character flaw of selfishness – the desire to please ourselves above all others. We don’t need that in our leaders. Our leaders should display selflessness – the desire to take care of others above self. It does not matter if the leader is Christian, Jew, a follower of Islam or has no belief – we don’t need leaders who are selfish. I don’t care if the person is Democratic, Republican or Independent, the standard is selflessness.

What our leaders do in public and in private is important. A person desiring public life must be found above reproach; faithful in his or her commitments; capable of leading those closest to him / her – among the other things listed. We must demand this of our leaders … or we will end up with those who fail to lead … and fail to address the critical issues that face our nation.

I find no joy in the failure of any of those who have been elected to office. But I cannot agree that what any one of leaders does in private has not bearing on their public service. I wish former Representative Weiner well … and hope that he will be able to rebuild his life with his wife.

As a crucial election year approaches, I think we should look for the following in a candidate:

(1) Has the candidate been faithful in his or her personal commitments? Serving people is a trust … but if a person cannot keep the trust he or she has made to one dear to them, how can we be assured that they will keep the trust we place in them?
(2) Is the candidate willing to address difficult issues directly or does he or she attempt to deflect responding? Our country faces some very difficult issues that absolutely must be addressed by our lawmakers. It is time to stop playing politics and address those issues straight on.
(3) Does the candidate pose solutions or point fingers? Telling us the economy is bad because so and so did such and such doesn’t bring resolution to the problem. Americans deserve to know if a candidate has a solution to a problem so they can make a rational decision in their voting.
(4) In every campaign mistakes are made. How willing is the candidate to admit the mistake? Americans are forgiving people … but only when a person is honest with us.

I am sure you can think of others. I believe our nation is facing some serious economic times. We cannot afford leaders who think more about the next election cycle and less about the issues that affect all of us. We are fortunate to live in a country where the people make the choice. God bless the USA.

And God bless all of you this weekend – mothers and fathers alike.


Agape’


Mr. Jim