This is a response to the political climate on Saturday, October 6th, 2018.
A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart.
Proverbs 21:2
It is quite timely that I have just emerged from a week-long vacation followed by a life-giving conference designed to empower leaders. Otherwise, I might have been far too disenchanted to engage the past few weeks event. I sat down to blog today about both of these events and ended up saving those drafts to post later.
I strive to look at political events through the lens of a disciple of Jesus, but I can never shake implications that I am also a leader in the local church specifically with young people. I am that particular kind of disciple. I work and vote and study because I love Jesus who has entrusted me with a ministry to young people.
And the tangled story of our new Supreme Court Justice took place in the years when he was a young person. It took place with girls who are the same age as the students I work with. That’s heartwrenching for me, as I hope it is for many of us.
There is a lot that could be said about the dangers of a party lifestyle. It’s a culture that’s been around for decades if not centuries past. People party and people have taken parting to extremes since before Jesus. To be sure, sexual assault is not excessive partying; it is a crime, not a vice. Yet the two do frequently appear together.
I have been in ministry with teenagers, college students, and adults who have been a part of all sides of this culture. People who were aggressors, alcoholics, victims, survivors, who all began with the intention of having a good time. People whose lifestyle forced them to recovery or counseling, and people who simply grew up and walked away.
I am not here to judge anyone. The church isn’t here to judge anyone. The past is indeed the past, as are the tragic events of which our new Supreme Court Justice has been accused. The events of the past do not matter in a court of law or to me as a Christian, but something else does matter: character.
The fact is, our culture has incredibly low standards for leadership. We do not ask what kind of a person someone is, we only ask what they have done and what they will do. For some reason, we believe this is now a better or more reliable measure than character.
During the 2016 Presidential election, I remember the great argument from Christians who recognized Trump’s moral failings made excuses to continue to vote Republican because they wanted a conservative Supreme Court Justice appointed. They wanted particular action taken in the future, and I suppose they got what they wanted at the expense of character.
I also remember going into my high school girls Bible study the morning after the election. One of my girls said something I still carry with me: “well, I don’t like that we have a bully for a president, but I guess that’s where we are.”
That moment crushed me.
We may never know if what happened at a drunken party in 1982; although, I personally think the assault likely. But as terrible as it sounds the certainty of this event really does not matter as far as the nation is concerned.
What we do know and can know in 2018 is the character of our newest Justice.
He could have admitted to many things when being interrogated. He was questioned about drinking, partying, and sexual encounters, and he admitted very little. Instead, when proof based questions were put to him, he frequently evaded them with a prideful and entitled attitude. He misdirected Senators by pointing out to what he did in school, sports, church or volunteering.
He demonstrated none of the humility of someone acknowledging the wrongs of their past, or even the ability to believe he could be wrong. It is unfortunate that it had to come about in such a public spectacle, but the stakes are high therefore his character should have been higher.
Leadership is not only about what you did or did not do, neither should we choose our leaders solely based on what they say they will do and not do.
Good leadership is essentially a moral act; it stems from a person’s character.
Moreover, we must choose leaders based on their character because we do not know what the future holds. A good leader is able to navigate through any unforeseen challenge because they have the internal compass and emotional skills to do so. They do not railroad their will but synthesize their vision with the environment around them.
This is why God looks on the heart, even choose his leaders this way. God does not want a leader who will do things only his or her own way. I know many church leaders with difficult pasts. Today they are church leaders because they have character. They are humble, honest, and open. They have addressed the sins and pains of the past and do not use their record of accomplishments as an excuse or justification for anything.
I am a disciple of Jesus who has been given a ministry with young people. Today, nearly two years later, I wonder what that young girl from my old Bible study would say today. I wonder how she would access the character of the man whose decisions will shape the country of her future. I wonder what these leaders are teaching her.
Kena Hawkins Newkirk 