Checked and Balanced?

What a great idea the American form of government was. Knowing that we all share a human nature prone to greed, selfishness, and corruption, a system of checks and balances was put in place. No one person would hold all the power, and those who held a portion of power would be held accountable through a system of checks and balances. Thus, in the system we enjoy, the Administrative, Judicial, and Legislative branches of government serve as one another’s watchdogs. Hopefully.

In Don’t Know Much About History, Ken Davis states that this system of checks and balances was put into place “whether out of wisdom or fear,” and “the fear was obvious: no one wanted anyone else to become too powerful.”

I think that in this case, wisdom and fear go hand in hand! “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” and “the fear of human corruption is the beginning of wise government.”

Have we ceased to fear the corruption of the human heart and what it means for those who govern us? There is certainly evidence for this. We look to those who lead as a kind of nobility, as those who are above the law. While this is true of each branch of government, I’m struck in particular by the way the legislature – the representatives of the people – have become a kind of “elected nobility.” Rather than being truly of the people, they are an elite class that vote for their own pay raises, fly their own planes, and are shielded from the effects of their legislation.

Oh, for a return to a Senate and Congress that had to live under the laws it passed: that had to pay their taxes, send their kids to their schools, and fight in their wars.

And now the punch line: hasn’t this happened in our churches as well? Some pastors (or “evangelical leaders”) are seen not as servants of the people, and accountable to their fellow believers, but high above them. And I think we somewhat enjoy the illusion that it is possible to achieve such super spirituality and bulletproof integrity. We like to have someone to point to of whom we can say, “See, world? See how good we are?” But this is foolish, and leads - as we know too well - to shock and heartache when spiritual celebrities come crashing down.

Church leaders need to be seen as fellow sinners who are gifted with teaching the word of God and shepherding souls. While they need to be held to a high standard of conduct, they need to be held to this standard by people who recognize just how much they need help – first from Jesus Christ, second from their fellow believers. There is no spiritual nobility, except in the sense that God's children are all "heirs of eternal life."