” You can’t trust leadership to tell the truth”. If I take
Senator Mike Duffy at face value, I am living in that day. While it may not be
true of all leadership it is certainly true of some.
The recent Senate scandal is a wake- up call to all of us.
We need to discern the times in which we live and see how far we have drifted
from values like integrity, trust, honesty and the like. Sadly there seems to
be a prevailing attitude of “who cares”. Who cares if Prime Ministers or for
that matter, Presidents, Mayors, Business executives, Priests or Pastors in
leadership can’t be trusted to tell the truth and have no shame in cover ups to
deceive the public. It seems to be no big deal as long as they can deliver on
bringing success in the form of some type of prosperity. If the numbers are
good, if there is something to make us feel good, anything to appeal to our
pride, as long as they don’t get caught in their deception, then who cares? If they, “lie, buy and destroy”, to hold on to
power and take care of their self –interests, if they use others as dirt rags
and harm the careers of good people in covering up their sins, who cares ?
Well, I don’t know about you, but I do. The dishonest
actions of a leader will eventually effect the country and its citizens. History
bears witness and will do so again in our time. The same is true in all
organizations, secular and religious.
Lying and deception are not new concerning leaders. Good
people if they are not held accountable can become corrupted by power and
position. We can go back to the days of King David in the nation of Israel to
see how power and position without accountability nearly destroyed him.
Fortunately there was a voice for righteousness in the land and the King
humbled himself to accountability and came clean about his lying scheme to
cover up his wrong doing. He was sorry for what he did, not because he got
caught but because it was wrong. (Then David said to Nathan,
“I have sinned against the Lord.” - the
complete story is historically recorded in the Bible- 2 Samuel 11-12). David however was willing to confess and
repent, something that is rarely even considered today and there are very few
with the will to stem the tide of wrong doing in today’s society and stand for
the truth, demanding accountability from leaders.
So what does this have to do with Spiritual Health and
Emotional Wellness? I believe it speaks for itself. A person who grasps after
power and will “lie buy and destroy” to hold on to it for selfish interests and
pride is both spiritually unhealthy and emotionally unwell.
When corruption and cover up is the order of the day in all
institutions and is deemed acceptable by its constituents, it is a true sign
our nation is in a state of spiritual sickness and emotional illness.
The only way to change is to start by admitting to having a
problem and then to take action to change. David got it right, confession and
repentance, it’s the honorable thing to
do, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. President, Mr. Mayor, Mr. Business Executive, Mr.
Priest , Mr. Pastor, Mr. Mrs. Ms.
Until Next Time- Blessings!
