With various wordings this has been the somewhat sanctimonious statement of various Christian leaders, and others. Trump is certainly not as pure as the driven snow, and they may well be right that he is morally unfit to be the leader.
But so were:
- Hillary.
- Barack.
- Bill.
- Bush.
- JFK.
- Nixon.
- Churchill.
- Hawke.
- McMahon.
- King David. Who, in spite of his egregious sin, is described as a ‘man after God’s own heart’. Why?
- Jacob.
- Isaac.
- Abraham. Here’s the clue. Abraham believed – trusted in – God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Who, really, is morally fit to be President of the United States? To be the leader of anything? Christians, of all people, should know that none of us is. For ‘all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God’. Trusting in God is the only way we can be righteous.
So where is Trump in all this? Does he trust in God? I don’t know, and neither do you. Nor do any of the Christian leaders who have condemned him as morally unfit.
So, if the question is not how morally good we are, what then is the criterion for judging our leaders? Surely it must be on the basis of the task the leader is doing! How well does he/ she do the job of being the leader, president, prime minister?
- Does the leader fulfil his/ her mandate as leader?
- Is he/ she leading the nation in a good direction?
- Is he/ she making proper provision for everybody’s voice to be heard?
- Is he/ she making proper provision for the poorer citizens to be properly provided for?
- For the economic system to work well so that wealth is generated and fairly distributed?
- That the justice system is fair and rewards those who honestly work hard and punishes those who break the law in some way?
- Does he/ she make provision for the free exercise of religious belief?
- Does he/ she make sure that the nation is safe and secure?
- Does he/ she make sure there is genuine opportunity for freedom of speech?
And the many more things that are part of being the leader of a nation.
Perhaps it’s time to stop sanctimoniously pointing at Trump’s failings and start looking at what sort of leader he is. How is he doing in the great task of being the POTUS? All leaders are and should be subject to close scrutiny, but it should be on the basis of how they do their task as leader, and it should be a fair scrutiny.
And in all this it’s worth remembering the words of Theodore Roosevelt:
“The only man who makes no mistake is the man who does nothing.”
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