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2. Remember that God uses everything for there is no reason not to assume that it will continue to do so in
His glory. the present. During biblical times, Nero was the emperor of
Sometimes leaders may seem so far out of line that we question Rome. He was a clearly evil man who led severe persecution
against the church. If Nero had gotten his way, Christianity
why God would possibly allow them to be in a position of
would have been stomped out and never have made it past the
power. By outward appearances, it may seem as though they
could be nothing but detrimental to those underneath their first century. Not only did the persecution fail to kill the church,
authority and to the kingdom of God as a whole. We must the church actually flourished. The kingdom of God is not
remember that God can and will use everything for His glory, dependent on qualified human governments for its strength.

even unqualified and unbiblical leadership. In the book of
Exodus, there is an example of a wicked and ungodly leader in 4. Remember that Christians do not need good
Pharaoh. He goes against the will of God and uses his authority earthly leadership.
and power to keep God’s chosen people enslaved. It would be As Christians, we do not need to look to mankind to provide the
easy to question why God would allow this, but it is due to answer or the salvation that the rest of the world often looks
Pharaoh’s actions that God is able to display His great power for in its leaders, because we have already found the answer
and His amazing providence. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know elsewhere. Our earthly leaders will disappoint us, and they will
that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, make mistakes, but that is okay because far above them, in a
who have been called according to his purpose.” This even place of complete power and complete authority, we have a
includes the actions of our ungodly leaders. perfect leader in Christ. He will never disappoint us. He will not
fail us. We will never need to call His leadership into question.
Think of it this way: Many times, children do not understand
why their parents make the decisions they make. It isn't until
many years later that children are mature enough to realize
why they cannot play in the street or eat chocolate cake for
breakfast (at least not every day…). In the same way, the
decisions that Jesus makes will always be right and the things
He calls us to do will always ultimately be for our good.

5. Pray for our leaders.
The Bible contains multiple commands for us to pray for our
leaders. We pray both for their salvation and repentance and
also for their wisdom and provision. Paul writes in 1 Timothy
2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for
kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a
peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” These
verses tell us that it will be to our own benefit to pray for our
leaders. The task of leading is not an easy one and it is not
something that can be done well without God being
directly involved.

We might not like all of the leaders that we have, but they are
our leaders nonetheless. We must make the best of it and live
in submission and obedience, by following laws and respecting
their position. Grumbling will not do us any good. Our leaders
are not perfect, not by a long shot, but they are placed there by
God. He can use them for His glory and the furthering of His
kingdom. We must live recognizing their authority while
simultaneously remembering that they will not save us. They
3. Don’t panic. will never be able to lead us perfectly; only Christ will do that.
Leaders have a lot of power and a lot of influence, so it is easy
to assume that poor and sometimes even evil leadership will
hurt the kingdom of God. We do not need to panic. Christianity
has flourished in unqualified and evil leadership in the past and

1
All biblical references come from Tyndale’s NIV Life Application Bible
2 Every Good Endeavor, Timothy Keller, p. 67, 2012