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Morality or Corruption
“Hear now . . . you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice? Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us’” (Micah 3:1,11, NKJV).*
Bribery, extortion, sex scandals—all have been vices of man since biblical days.
So it would seem the public corruption that’s swept the nation in recent years should come as no surprise. But voters who put politicians in office say such behavior is intolerable, and their trust in those individuals—in government—diminishes a little bit more with each corruption sting or immoral act.
Mainly, they’re frustrated that most of the people who asked for their vote professed to be Christians, or followers of Christ.
It raises the questions: Is there such thing as a Christian in politics? Can a politician really serve morally?
In his book How Can a Christian Be in Politics? (Tyndale House Publishers, 2005), Tennessee senator Roy Herron, a lawyer and former minister, recalled an incident a number of years ago when he was about to preach at a church near Nashville, Tennessee.
Johnny Hayes, a member of that congregation, introduced me by telling of a political fund-raiser he had attended the night before that honored a 100-year-old gentleman. Johnny asked the centenarian how he had survived so long and so well as a member of a small minority in a county dominated by the other political party. The gentleman’s sage reply was, “Johnny, you’ve just got to know who you can trust and who you can’t trust.”
When Johnny asked just whom one can and cannot trust, the old man replied, “There are just three types of folks you can’t trust. You can’t trust lawyers, you can’t trust preachers, and you can’t trust politicians.”
Johnny turned to me sitting behind the pulpit and said, “This fellow here is a lawyer, a preacher, and last week he went to work in a political campaign—you can’t believe a thing he says!”
The congregation roared with laughter.
It was not the first time that I’d been the victim of a good joke. After all, I am a lawyer, but even lawyers are more respected than politicians.
However, despite such opinions even today, Herron says he believes a politician can serve morally.
“Many of the people I know in politics and public service are deeply devout,” says the Dresden Democrat. “They try to do the right things for the right reasons. Their public service is out of their personal faith.”
Nevertheless, Herron is not oblivious to the fact that many don’t. About two years ago, five of his legislative colleagues—four Democrats and one Republican—were convicted in an FBI bribery and extortion sting code named “Tennessee Waltz” that made national news.
The arrests rocked the Tennessee legislature and led to a special session on legislative ethics.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, public corruption is one of the FBI’s top investigative priorities, behind only terrorism, espionage, and cyber crimes.
“It strikes at the core of what our country’s about,” said Special Agent Dan O’Brien, former chief of the FBI’s Public Corruption and Government Fraud program. “Our democracy depends on a healthy, efficient, and ethical government—whether it’s in the courtroom or the halls of Congress.”
But regardless of whether they’re innocent or guilty, critics say what’s troubling is that these men are associated with corruption when they claimed during their campaigns to serve morally if elected.
“All across this country, many who are being investigated, or have been charged, are professing Christians,” Herron says. “All of that undermines citizens’ trust in their government.”
Lizzette Churchwell, who votes regularly, agrees public corruption in her state and elsewhere is disheartening. “They all sound positive,” says the Madison, Tennessee, resident. “But when they are elected, they do things that are inappropriate, and then they act as if they are innocent.”
There’s no easy way to tell what a candidate will do if elected. But Churchwell says one thing she does before voting is research. She studies the candidate, paying particular attention to his or her family values and whether moral judgments were made in handling certain situations.
Despite the corruption plaguing our nation, she also believes elected officials can avoid scandal.
“We should obey man’s law as well as God’s law,” Churchwell says. “If you can obey God’s law, then you should be able to do right by man.”
Thomas Bowers of Maylene, Alabama, says it’s challenging for politicians—especially those of the Christian faith—to serve morally because they are often targets of people who want to test them.
“Some will try to intentionally trap them through sex, extortion, and bribery,” says the Army reservist, who recently returned from Iraq. “Those three things are tempting for some.”
Bowers says politicians who are trying to do right should surround themselves with individuals who share their same beliefs and who will not hesitate to question their actions if they suspect they’re going astray.
Robert Parham, executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, calls such an individual a “truth-teller,” or “one who delivers a moral critique no matter how unpopular or inconvenient it might be.”
“Unfortunately, too many politicians surround themselves with sycophants, and ideological twins,” he says.
Even though there seems to be a lot of political corruption today, Parham points back to biblical times. He says what’s different today is that “human corruption is much more visible, and that message is reinforced” because of the 24/7 news cycle—such as the television and Internet—that show negative news stories, and leave the impression of more corruption.
For instance, he says one well-known story of political corruption in the Bible involved King David. Called a man after God’s own heart, he said David used his position of power for sex with Bathsheba, and then arranged the murder of her husband after she told David she was pregnant.
“Fortunately, King David had the prophet Nathan who spoke the painful truth directly about the wrong he had done,” Parham says.
Regardless of their behavior, Herron says politicians should expect to be scrutinized and held more accountable for their actions because they’re elected to be leaders and do what’s right.
“Whether you study the Old Testament, the teachings of Jesus, or writings of Paul, throughout scripture we are called to be about justice,” he says. “In elected public office, we’re called to justice; to create just laws and to redress injustice.”
Amen.
LUCAS L. JOHNSON II is a freelance writer and author who lives in Nashville, Tennessee. His book is titled Finding the Good: Two Men—One Old, One Young—Forever Changed by the Transforming Power of Faith and Love.
*Texts credited to NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. |
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