Godly Leadership Principles That Can Restore Our Nation

The current crisis facing America is primarily a leadership crisis, rooted in a spiritual and moral decline. The core issue stems from the nation’s abandonment of fixed moral standards, leading to a state where “every man did that which was right in his own eyes,” because “there was no king in Israel”. This cultural shift—from authority to relativism and from conviction to mere opinion—has paved the way for ineffective and dangerous leadership.

Drawing parallels from the Book of Judges, the sources identify three stages in the decline of a nation: the apostasy of an unthankful people, the arrogance of an ungodly leader, and the apathy of uncommitted bystanders.

1. The Apostasy of an Unthankful People: The Erosion of Morality

The decline begins not with bad leadership, but with the apostasy of an unthankful people. The children of Israel, after achieving a mighty victory delivered by God, soon forgot the Lord their God and went “a whoring after Baalim”. This betrayal involved turning to a fertility cult (Baalberith), signifying a turn toward immorality.

The Collapse of Fixed Standards

Today’s crisis mirrors this apostasy through the rejection of fixed moral standards, substituting them with fluid, poll-driven opinions. The sources outline a four-step national degradation:

1. From Authority to Relativism: There is no fixed standard of morality. Government is run by polls to find out what people want and then give it back to them, replacing divinely established authority with subjective relativism.
2. From Truth to Pragmatism: People no longer ask if something is true (“Is it true?”), but only if it works (“Does it work?”). Religion is often chosen merely to produce health, wealth, and happiness, making it man-centered rather than God-centered.
3. From Revelation to Feeling (Me-ology): Psychology has been substituted for theology. The focus shifts from dealing with the enemy (sin) to dealing with sorrow or sadness. The number one priority is to feel good about yourself.
4. From Convictions to Opinions: Few people hold strong convictions about anything except their right to be happy.

Systematic Removal of Religious Liberty

This collapse of moral authority is reflected in rulings that systematically strip religious liberty from public life, despite the First Amendment guaranteeing the “free exercise” of religion.

• Courts have ruled it unconstitutional for a student in public school to pray out loud over lunch.
• Even non-sectarian prayers recited by kindergarten students (“We thank you for the flowers sweet…”) have been ruled unconstitutional because “Somebody might think of God”.
• Students and teachers are prohibited from openly professing allegiance to God, and in some places, they cannot even have a moment of silence.
• Rulings have deemed it unconstitutional for school graduation ceremonies to contain opening or closing prayers.
• In one instance, students were prohibited from using the word “Christmas” because it contained “Christ,” or exchanging Christmas cards, effectively stigmatizing the sacred holiday of Western tradition.

The Founding Fathers, who passed the First Amendment, also passed the Northwest Ordinance, which stated that “Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and means of education shall forever be encouraged”. The current legal trajectory is taking “another bite out of our religious liberties”.

Media Seduction and Stigmatization

The media compounds this decline by systematically seducing children. Media moguls have three key tactics:

1. Normalizing the Abnormal: They normalize things that are abnormal and subnormal, such as showing unmarried people slipping in and out of bed as naturally as a handshake. Profanity and filth are presented as polite conversation.
2. Desensitizing: After normalization, they desensitize the audience, reaching a point where things that used to shock now amuse. A generation that doesn’t know how to blush or flinch requires the content to become “filthier and filthier” to retain attention.
3. Legitimizing the Illegitimate: Sexual perversion has been legitimized, moving from a sin, to a sickness, and finally to a socially accepted practice.
4. Stigmatizing the Godly: Finally, they stigmatize that which is good and decent, making the word “virgin” a laughing matter and monogamous marriage a joke. Those who stand up for Bible truth are often called the “radical religious right”. This reverses morality, where there is “Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil”.

2. The Arrogance of an Ungodly Leader: The Rise of the Thorn

In the spiritual vacuum created by apostasy, ungodly leaders arise, exemplified by Abimelech, the “bramble” or “thorn bush”. The parable of the trees seeking a king illustrates this danger.

• The Olive Tree (representing fatness, honor, and necessary function) refused to leave its valuable work.
• The Fig Tree (representing sweetness, fruit, and nicety) refused to forsake its productive goodness.
• The Vine (representing wine that cheers God and man, and luxury) refused to stop producing.
• The Bramble (representing the thorn bush) readily accepted the kingship, demanding that if they anointed him, they must put their trust in his shadow, or else fire would come out and devour the noble cedars.

The bramble is useless; it has no fruit, no shade, and no timber. It only rips, shreds, chokes, and clings. Abimelech, an unholy, ambitious leader, embodied this thorn.

Abimelech’s rise to power demonstrates four unethical political tactics:

1. Building a Coalition: He first appealed to his relatives, building a coalition by claiming, “I am your bone and your flesh” and “I am one of you”.
2. Buying Constituents: He bought his constituents with money taken from the house of Baalberith (the god of sexual immorality). This purchase was a slap in the face of the God of Israel and shows that elections can sometimes be bought.
3. Brutalizing Competition: He murdered all seventy of his half-brothers “upon one stone,” establishing a government built on blood. The sources draw a modern parallel to the millions of “little babies” who have died since Roe vs. Wade, suggesting that a memorial for them would stretch sixty miles, built on blood.
4. Inaugurated with False Religion: Abimelech had himself inaugurated as king by the pillar or “great tree” at Shechem, a place where God had spoken to Abraham and established a covenant. This was an attempt to associate himself with things that were holy and to make a farce of the covenant.

3. The Apathy of Uncommitted Bystanders: The Triumph of Evil

The final and most tragic stage is the apathy of uncommitted bystanders. Jotham, the prophet, stood on Mount Gerizim and lifted his voice to warn the people through the parable of the trees. The olive tree, the fig tree, and the vine all refused to rule because they were too busy with their good things—their necessities, niceties, and luxuries.

Because the “good men” (the productive, valuable elements of society) fled their responsibilities, the useless bramble was allowed to rule.

• The classic statement from Edmond Burke applies: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.

The crisis is sustained by the silence of those who are too busy being useful in their private lives to engage in the necessary work of leadership and moral correction.

4. Hope for Restoration

Despite the severity of the decline, the sources emphasize that the Book of Judges is not a message of despair. God had rather forgive than judge; He is a God of mercy.

We must disabuse ourselves of the idea that there can be no renaissance, no revival, or no restoration. There is hope, and believers are urged to:

• Pray with urgency and boldness.
• Be wise as serpents, harmless as doves, and bold as lions.
• Shine as lights in a dark place.
• Pray for a mighty revival, starting with oneself: “Let it begin in me”.