One of the most challenging tasks of leaders is to articulate a vision for the future, communicate how we will get there and then to persuade people to follow. Our current crop of Federal Government leaders are fairly dismal at this task, whether providing a clear vision and goals for Covid vaccinations, or about tackling a longer term issue such as climate change. The latest mantra that Australia should reach zero carbon emissions as soon as possible and preferably by 2050 illustrates the point. It is not a vision that motivates anything, it has no plan for how to achieve the goal and it persuades no-one.

Compare this to King David and his vision to build up the city of Jerusalem including a temple, or house, for God. This was a fairly grand vision that sought to provide a central place for worship as well as uniting the tribes of Israel. (We’ll set aside David’s theology that believed God could be contained to a single place and a single building …). God in turn takes this vision and makes it grander still. God will instead build a house for David, an everlasting kingdom or dynasty to arise from his offspring. This vision sustained Israel for over 400 years until Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and the last king carted off into exile.

The vision lived on, however, for a new David, a Messiah, to raise up the tribes of Israel once more. Many people wondered if Jesus might be the hoped for Messiah. And Jesus did speak a lot about the kingdom, the kingdom of God, which was his central vision. This was not an earthly kingdom, however, with a king ruling on a throne in Jerusalem, but rather a kingdom that reigned in people’s hearts where they followed God’s ways of justice, compassion, forgiveness and mercy. This vision was simple and memorable and has inspired millions of Jesus’ followers down through the centuries.

Articulating a vision remains an important role for good leaders, but as Christians we already have a compelling and clear vision, given to us by Jesus, which is to build God’s kingdom through our witness, worship and service. It’s a vision that excites, motivates and guides what we do.

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.