It’s sometimes said that we get the government we deserve, meaning that if we elect a certain type of person then we shouldn’t be surprised when they act in certain predictable ways. Hence the actions of Donald Trump conform to the type of person that he is. Similarly with Scott Morrison given his background in marketing and spin, where appearance matters more than substance.
Both these leaders would claim to be Christian, which makes the actions of our Federal Government in dealing with a Tamil family from Biloela all the harder to fathom. Nades and Priya and their two girls Kopika and Tharunicaa were arrested in the middle of the night and placed in immigration detention in Melbourne over three years ago and were moved to Christmas Island detention nearly two years ago. What does the government’s treatment of the family over this period, including in the last several days, reveal about the heart of our Federal leaders?
As Samuel reflects on the challenges of choosing a new leader to be king over Israel, he notes that people tend to see only the outward attributes of a leader, whereas God looks at the heart – the place of both emotions and knowledge, wisdom and integrity in ancient thought. Samuel went against cultural practice in choosing David to be king, the youngest of eight brothers, confirming that God saw qualities in David beyond his youthful appearance and inexperience.
So how do we choose leaders? The image above suggests that we often have unspoken biases – regarding gender or age or outward abilities. We may not take the time in prayer to discern other attributes of a person, which may be even more important in the long run, such as the depth of their spirituality and inner life and wisdom to see things through God’s eyes. So perhaps we do get the leaders that we deserve if we don’t look beyond the surface to see what is in the heart of a person.