Leadership and morality are inseparable (Albert Mohler)

Leaders are committed to one of the most morally important vocations on earth. Everything leaders do has moral meaning and great importance. Although they share the same basic moral obligations as everyone else, they have certain virtues that are essential to them.

By creating us in his own image, God designed us human beings as creatures with a moral sense. Our mind and our reason are in perpetual reflection. Our conscience demands our attention, and we continually observe those around us for moral clues.

Our Creator has given us laws, principles, precepts, and commandments that guide us, hold us accountable for our actions, and protect us. Christian leaders are grateful for the common morality which is revealed in nature and which has been recognized in some form in almost all civilizations and cultures. We also show gratitude for the precise moral instruction given to us in the Bible through the commandments and laws that form the framework of our moral standards.

In addition, we must recognize the importance of the moral order represented by government, which, after all, was also given to us by our Creator so that we can live in a society of order and peace. If these structures of laws and morals did not exist, leadership would be impossible.

However, laws and commandments are not enough. Leadership requires the personal integration of certain moral virtues. If the leader does not emphasize these essential virtues, a danger awaits him. Consider the people who changed the moral landscape of modern life. Hearing Richard Nixon's name, the first thing that comes to mind is the fact that he has become the first (and so far, the only) President of the United States to step down. When we hear about Enron, the first thing we all remember is the failure and dramatic downfall of a major US company, in part due to fraudulent estimates.

Alternatively, think of Bernard Madoff, who is now in North Carolina federal prison serving 150 years for leading the biggest Ponzi scheme in the story. His scam, valued at $ 18 billion, targeted, among other things, investors who were among the largest in the world. Strangely, his fraudulent schemes went unnoticed for a very long time. However, time has passed and the death knell has come for Madoff. The collapse of a deal on this scale was as impressive as a tsunami. It cannot be denied, however, that Madoff is an example of leadership. One of his life-sentenced admirers wrote on a prison blog: “He is without a doubt the greatest con artist of all time. "

Unfortunately, the same story of leadership without virtue resulted in the downfall of many Christian ministers and many churches. The people who should be most aware of the importance of virtue in leadership may be the most troublesome examples of its lack.

Leaders are subject to the same laws, morals, and expectations as the rest of humanity, but the risks of immorality are much higher for them. This is why certain moral virtues are particularly essential to the character and life of a leader.

This article is taken from the book The conviction to lead by Albert Mohler