16 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. … 25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah; she was a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…
The most important thing in leadership is integrity. Character is not something that is quickly built. Every leader is going to make mistakes, every leader is going to lead in directions people don’t like (otherwise, they’re not leading), but it should not be called into question, specifically Christian leaders, that they have God’s will as their aim. There is no substitute for godly character in a leader, there are all kinds of personality types and leadership styles and strategies, but integrity is not optional. There’s a big difference between “I don’t like what they’re doing” and “they’re doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord.” If you don’t have the latter, be thankful it’s just the former 😉
