Who Will Do What Needs To Be Done?
With local government elections approaching, my thoughts have turned to who will I vote for and also more widely to questions about political leadership in this country and around this world.
Without getting into specifics, over recent months I have found myself becoming more and more frustrated by political leaders who refuse to do what needs to be done. The COP26 meetings in Glasgow had only exacerbated these feelings. I know it’s not apathy, because a great deal of effort and energy seems to go into doing nothing and defending doing nothing? It can’t be ignorance about the issues. No intelligent person could be that ill-informed. So, this inaction must be intentional. The most obvious explanation is that those in power are terrified of offending the people who they believe can remove them from power and the result is inaction. It’s as if staying in power is all that matters rather than this being a means of doing something good for our nation or community. I may be naive, but what other reason is there for seeking public office.
Certainly, there are times when power should not be exercised and recognising these times takes wisdom. Equally, there are times when power needs to be exercised for the public good, even when doing so is unpopular and may cost votes. That takes courage backed by a reputation for honesty and integrity. Wisdom, courage, honesty, integrity - these are some of the qualities of a good leader.
The best example I have for the right use of power is Jesus. He didn’t want it. The bible says, “When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself” (John 6:15). That being said, Jesus was never afraid to offend those with power who sought to control him. He was willing to be unpopular rather than compromise the truth. And, he always acted out of a desire for our greatest good and was willing to pay whatever personal price was necessary to make that a reality. Jesus is the one who does what needs to be done. I would vote for him any day.
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:6-8).
Neil Percival
Without getting into specifics, over recent months I have found myself becoming more and more frustrated by political leaders who refuse to do what needs to be done. The COP26 meetings in Glasgow had only exacerbated these feelings. I know it’s not apathy, because a great deal of effort and energy seems to go into doing nothing and defending doing nothing? It can’t be ignorance about the issues. No intelligent person could be that ill-informed. So, this inaction must be intentional. The most obvious explanation is that those in power are terrified of offending the people who they believe can remove them from power and the result is inaction. It’s as if staying in power is all that matters rather than this being a means of doing something good for our nation or community. I may be naive, but what other reason is there for seeking public office.
Certainly, there are times when power should not be exercised and recognising these times takes wisdom. Equally, there are times when power needs to be exercised for the public good, even when doing so is unpopular and may cost votes. That takes courage backed by a reputation for honesty and integrity. Wisdom, courage, honesty, integrity - these are some of the qualities of a good leader.
The best example I have for the right use of power is Jesus. He didn’t want it. The bible says, “When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself” (John 6:15). That being said, Jesus was never afraid to offend those with power who sought to control him. He was willing to be unpopular rather than compromise the truth. And, he always acted out of a desire for our greatest good and was willing to pay whatever personal price was necessary to make that a reality. Jesus is the one who does what needs to be done. I would vote for him any day.
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:6-8).
Neil Percival