When the righteous increase (when the righteous are in authority), the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. (Proverbs 29:2, English Standard Version)

“If a clown goes into the palace, the clown does not become a king; the palace becomes a circus.” – An iteration of a Turkish Proverb

The Lord knows my heart for servant leadership. It was one of the key motivators as to why I serve whether at work, in church or in my community. Servant leadership is leadership that acts from the principles and practices of Jesus, as a servant. In the book, Servant Leadership: Proverbs for Today’s Leaders (2017) gifted to me several years ago written by Dr. Dave Stevens and Pastor Bert Jones of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations where I serve as Director of State Public Policy, they inform that the term “servant leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader essay published in 1970. The Greenleaf Institute states that “Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world.” Dr. Stevens and Pastor Jones agree with the definition and also refer the reader to Mark 9:35 for a better way to define servant leadership. In Mark 9:35, Jesus summed up servant leadership by saying to the 12 disciples, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (New International Version) Servant leadership puts others before self. Servant leadership does not focus on accumulating wealth, power and prestige. Servant leadership is not focused on building an empire. Rather, servant leadership leads people to become who God has called them to be by helping them reach their full potential. It is influential leadership that sacrifices, that models such servant leadership for the good of others and the mission and reproduces other servant leaders who will influence many others. “Servant leaders use their power legitimately and always for the good of the people they serve,” Dr. Stevens and Pastor Jones write as one of the proverbs for servant leaders in Chapter 5 of their book. They also write, “Though organizational success is not the primary goal of a servant leader, it is its byproduct because you get the best effort and results out of those you lead.”

History has shown us the devastating effects of power held by and deployed from corrupt hands. In his book, The Irony of American History (The University of Chicago Press, 1952), one of my favorite books, American author, theologian, ethicist and political commentator Reinhold Niebuhr referenced a stern warning from John Adams given to Thomas Jefferson on the powers of human self-deception being seemingly endless–particularly in understanding the depravity of the human heart (See Jeremiah 17:9 on the wickedness/deceitfulness of the human heart and its propensity to sin). Adams wrote Jefferson saying, “Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all of His laws. Our passions, ambitions, avarice (greed), love and resentment, etc., possess so much metaphysical subtlety and so much overpowering eloquence that they insinuate themselves into the understanding and the conscience and convert both to their party.” Adams understood the power and deception of the self’s passions which if rooted in self, would lead to corrupt reasoning to justify acting on those passions and ambitions.

During my Master of Public Administration (MPA) studies completed through Regent University in Virginia Beach, servant leadership was a core principle that was threaded throughout my course reading and discussions. Not only servant leadership, but also the character traits of servant followers. From the book, Christian Scripture and Human Resource Management written by one of my Regent University Robertson School of Government professors, Gary E. Roberts, Ph.D., shares on page 104 Principle 25: Practice Unswerving Honesty, is one of several core character traits. It says, “Servant followers are uncompromisingly conscientious and honest, passionately embrace truth telling–even when the risks are high. Humility is also a foundational servant follower virtue.” This is also true of servant leaders as others are following their lead.

When the righteous increase (when the righteous are in authority), the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. (Proverbs 29:2, English Standard Version)

Servant leaders also exhibit and exercise excellence of character and competency. Servant leaders build reservoirs of credibility that translate into favor and higher levels of influence at all levels. Servant leader credibility increases trust and favor. When our work is excellent, we will serve important causes and receive the favor of the king (Proverbs 22:29). Servant leaders also are willing to “fall on their sword,” having a contrite heart to be accountable for their mistakes. A dear brother in Christ and founder of several organizations, Hakim Hazim, provided these simple and yet fundamental criteria for serious leadership which he calls “The 4 C’s of Leadership” and those 4 C’s are: Character, Competency, Credibility and Critical Thinking. Although he shared these four core leadership traits with me and others many years ago, what he provided has always stuck with me and serve as a measurement for a leader to at least possess and exercise well these four core traits.

But you can’t make someone into something they aren’t if they are unwilling. As referenced in the opening reference to the iteration of a Turkish Proverb, “If a clown goes into the palace, the clown does not become a king; the palace becomes a circus,” chaos rather than character will be prevalent. Unfit leadership is worse than a meal eaten that sends you running to the toilet. At least you will likely recover within a few hours or a day from the sour meal. However, the effects of unfit and faulty leadership are not so quickly recoverable and have widespread impact on many–usually impacting the most vulnerable who already suffer various hardships. Sometimes the harmful effects of unfit leadership are not fully known until long after.

I say all of this to say: For those of us who follow Christ (and even those who do not), but particularly for those who follow Christ, we should not want anything less in a leader. We should not trade or negotiate these necessary qualities for something less in hopes of getting something better. If anything, we will have ordered something worse and the ramifications will be far-reaching.

God calls us to test the appearances of leaders to discern whether they are fit and virtuous leaders by examining the fruit produced by their actions (Matthew 7:15-20). That by their fruit we would be able to recognize if they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Not only should we test the appearance of leaders, we should also check ourselves “to examine our motives, means and ends given the powerful influence of rationalization and self-deception (1 John 4:1, 2 Corinthians 13:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:21),” as Dr. Roberts references on page 66 of his book, Christian Scripture and Human Resource Management.

Pray for wise leaders who continually seek God and may we be those wise leaders and followers who seek God as well.