The Measure of a Leader

Obama became the 44th President of USA today. I'm not American and probably know very little of what's going on in that country... but hearing and reading all thats in the media got me all hyped up too. I saw many 'coloured' people in tears, rejoicing at the very first 'coloured' President. I was touched seeing so many people of different 'colours' united and cheering the leader they have chosen.

People have different reasons for electing a leader. However, its not always that we get to choose our leaders. So I think its a privilege that Americans get to vote for their leaders, and their leaders get to rally for themselves. This got me thinking about how I measure leaders...

My respect and allegiance to my leaders are based on this question - Do they sincerely care about me? I have discovered that it is quite impossible for me to pledge my undying support to a leader who does not seem to care about the people he is leading. He may be a really eloquent speaker, have great knowledge, good looks and is extremely talented but if he doesn't care about his people, I don't think he's fit to be a leader.

On the other hand, he may be shy, not so great in looks and not such a great speaker but if he has a heart for the people he's leading, I will support him. I'm not saying that leaders don't need to have skills, its just that at the very least they must care for the people they are leading.

Leaders aren't superhuman or God, and I think they will fail once in a while. The difference is this - a leader who has cared for his people consistently will be forgiven easily by those under him, but the leader who has not shown care for his people will not be shown mercy when he fails. Its as simple as that.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13