Serving Bread

In recent weeks, I was saddened by the news that the mayor of my city, Antonio Villaraigosa, admitted that his marriage has come to an end and that he was romantically involved with a local television news reporter. Villaraigosa is not alone. Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor and one of the front runners for the Republican presidential nomination, broke off his second marriage at a live news conference and then professed his love for his mistress.

These men command influence and lead millions of people, yet their character is lacking. Of course, it wouldn’t be too difficult to list powerful and effective leaders with character flaws. These types of leaders are both inside and outside the Christian world.

When I see someone like Giuliani have a real chance to be our next president, I admit that I wonder whether character counts. The mantra seems to be, “as long as they do the job right, who cares about their character.”

But character does count and should count. In the Letter to the Galatians, Paul mentions that those who belong to Christ live by the fruit of the spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control (Galatians 5.22-23). In Christian leadership, our character counts especially since we are leading people toward getting their characters right with God. And business leadership guru Jim Collins has discovered that character tends to strengthen people’s leadership.

If leadership is only about accomplishing tasks, then character may not need to count. If leadership is only about power, then character may not need to count. But if leadership is about building trust and inspiring change, then our character matters.

In my experience, I have discovered that character development ultimately rests on me. In other words, others can suggest improvements to my character, but I am the ultimate gatekeeper of whether I want to be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3.2). Character development requires discipline and commitment on our part. It requires self-examination, transparency, and humility to allow others to speak truth into our lives.

I admit that I may not necessarily be the model person who values character development. But I do recognize that the leaders I respect the most, tend to be people who are most committed to being “above reproach” leaders. And that inspires me to be committed to character development.

Character does count and must count. It is unfortunate when political leaders can pave a path of leadership that steps aside character development. For anyone who is in leadership, we must follow a better path.