Choosing Our Leaders - It's what's on the inside that counts

In the Book of 1 Samuel, when the Israelites were searching for a king to rule over them, Saul was the people’s leading candidate. He was handsome, physically dominating, and stood head and shoulders above his countrymen. God, however, saw that his heart was not rightly inclined toward him and so rejected him and chose David instead. In comparison to Saul, David did not have the facial maturity nor was he as tall in stature. He just didn’t seem to have the physical characteristics that people usually look for in their leaders. But the Lord sees beyond what people see. The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). God saw that David was a man after God’s heart who would do the will of God (Acts 13:22).

In their book Gracious Christianity: Living the Love We Possess, authors Douglas Jacobsen and Rodney J. Sawatsky wrote, “Mother Teresa was far from beautiful in the glamour magazine-sense of the word but she was clearly one of the most attractive people in the world because of her moral beauty and compassion for the poorest of the poor in Calcutta’s slum.” Mother Teresa undoubtedly was a great leader—a book title even referred to her as a “CEO.” But her leadership is one that goes against the grain of our conception of leaders. She was not tall nor was she built big or strong.  She didn’t sport a fancy business suit but instead wore the same garment every single day. And yet, look at how effective she was as a leader. Look at how much God has blessed her in leading a large international organization that grew rapidly. It was her graciousness and kindness; it was the authenticity of her heart, so pure, so holy, and so full of prayer, that she was able to successfully lead and grow the Missionaries of Charity.

And then there is Saint Francis of Assisi—the Little Poor Man of Assisi. He lived hundreds of years ago and yet millions continue to follow him to this day. We have all seen a statue or an image of Saint Francis of Assisi. In many of the representations, he’s dressed in beggar’s clothes and you could just tell that he didn’t care much for his physical appearance. There is an often-told story of a conversation between Saint Francis and Brother Masseo, one of the original twelve followers of Francis. Brother Masseo was tall, handsome, and considered to be one of the best preachers of the new budding order. One day, Brother Masseo tried to test Francis’s humility and so, half-jokingly, he asked Francis:

“Why you? Why are people always after you?”

Saint Francis, curious to know the reason behind the question, replied, “What do you mean, Brother Masseo?”

Brother Masseo explained: “I mean, why is everyone running after you? Why does everyone want to see you or hear you and obey you everywhere we go? You’re not a handsome man. You’re not a learned man. You’re not a nobleman. So why is everybody after you?”

Upon hearing Brother Masseo’s question, Saint Francis rejoiced in humility, lifted up his gaze toward heaven, knelt down, thanked the Lord, and began to address Brother Masseo’s question. Saint Francis responded by quoting 1 Corinthians 1:27:

“God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” Praise God that I am none of these you described. God chose me for there is no other more sinful and more unworthy. God is showing the path to simplicity and truth and that He does this through such lowly dirt as me.”

The Heart of a Leader

In a society that is obsessed with beauty and physical appearance, we have to be more mindful of our biases so that we become more judicious when we select our leaders. We subconsciously use socially-constructed bias and superficial criteria, and that can blind us and miss the next Saint Francis or Mother Teresa. Let us not get fixated on the seductions of external appearances and instead focus more on what is genuinely in the hearts of our leaders.

It can be challenging in a society that often dictates what must be perceived to be good and beautiful but we know that we can do better and make better decisions. We can get better by not falling prey to our biases. We cannot keep taking these mental shortcuts and lazy ways. Instead, we need to make the effort to be more discerning in our judgements. Take the time to pray and ask God for guidance in selecting our next leaders. Pray and ask God to help us recognize our biases. Pray for God’s wisdom so that we are able to see and hear what God wants us to see and hear.

This article first appeared in Mind & Spirit, titled "How to Properly Pick Leaders."