He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. – 1 Chronicles 15:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 8, 2016): 1 Chronicles 15

The current public political argument seems to be around the idea of what a leader looks like. Specifically, is it enough to be able to do the job, or is there something more? I have long suspected that there is not much positive that anyone can do politically. But there is a lot of damage that can be done by the wrong person in political leadership. Political responsibility is rarely about doing the greatest good. Pessimistic, maybe, but the reality is that there are so many other factors that have an effect on our reality. For instance, where I live unemployment is on the rise, housing prices are dropping, and the main economic indicators are in decline. My RRSP fund has dropped almost 10%. And I would love to blame the political leadership for my problems, but the truth is that it is the instability of the oil market that is more to blame than the most recently elected political leaders. The solutions are long term, beginning with the lessening of our dependence on oil, but the problem is that political solutions are often much shorter termed. So, again, what does political leadership look like? Is it action based, functionally based, or is there something else in play.

David’s first attempt to bring the Ark of the Covenant was based on function. And functionally it was a good plan. It involved a cart, and capable men guiding the Ark toward its new home in Jerusalem. But the plan failed because there was something needed beyond functionality. There was a procedure that needed to be followed by a specific kind of person.

David has a meltdown over his first failure, but then he gathers himself and makes a second try. But this time it isn’t about the functional, it is about the right people. And the right people need to be prepared for the tasks that are at hand. So David instructs the right people to consecrate themselves and make themselves ready for the task at hand.

What does any of this have to do with politics? Honestly, maybe nothing. But maybe everything. It is quite possible given the nature of politics, which essentially simply means dealing with people, that politics cannot be about functionality. The least important thing a politician does is in the area of making things work. The most important thing a politician does is building bridges between people so that we can move into the future. Just like it was with the Ark of the Covenant, it isn’t about functionality. Political leadership is about the intangibles. And that is what makes the political environment so difficult. Because often what we think we need, is not what we really need.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 7