Observing history, one of the things that stands out to me is how much human beings focus it on individual leaders: great men and women who have done terrible and wonderful things, who have inspired others to follow them. Indeed, Stephen Lawhead opines multiple times in his Pendragon Cycle that men will not follow a vision so much as another man with a vision. Whether in politics, in war, in institutions, or even in the Church, we observe over and over again how one person rises to the top and people pledge themselves to them, fawning over them, following them sometimes knowingly, sometimes blindly, sometimes into bliss, but more often right over a cliff. Why is it that we as humans are so desirous to follow someone? Do not humanism and Enlightenment-based thought teach us that each human being is valuable in and of themselves and should have the autonomy to chart their own course? Why is it then that we bind ourselves to kings and presidents and chancellors and dictators and popes and preachers and pastors? Perhaps it is because we are designed that way.
Bear with me for a bit, especially you who believe that authority to rule derives from the consent of the governed. If we look back at how Genesis suggests humans were created, we were made to be in relationship with our Creator, who reveals himself as a “great king” (Mal. 1:14). We long to worship, because it is our nature to do so; from before our forefather Adam chose his own path and twisted all his descendants beyond recognition. Because we are sundered from our True Lord and King by our rebellion, we seek other lords and kings to follow, because for most of us the burden of deciding where to go and how to get there is too great. Paul writes that all authority on earth derives from God (Rom. 13:1). Thus, the position of ruler is actually a reflection of God. The Bible explains that to be a king is to be the shepherd of the people. When Jesus calls himself the “Good Shepherd” (Jn. 10:11), he is making a claim of kingship, because he will care for his people like a flock. In the Church we call our leaders “shepherds”, though we use the Latin term “pastor” instead. We want to be led. We want to be cared for. We want to be able to not worry about the big picture, simply going from pasture to still waters, enjoying the life our shepherd provides for us. We want to simply be sheep and enjoy life; and that is not a bad thing. There are some things that are simply too great for us to handle and, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 131, there are times to just let those go.
So, does this mean we are not to involve ourselves in the management and direction of the political and spiritual structures we are a part of? By no means. God has instated political leaders who are accountable to the people they shepherd. Jesus Christ is the Chief Shepherd of the Church (1Pe 5:4) who has instated Overseers accountable to him who are to guide the flock and who are to get all the sheep involved in causing the church to grow (Ac. 20:28; 1Pe. 5:2); for the gifts listed in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12–14 are distributed to all in the Church for the maturation of the Church. But it also explains our deep yearning for a King to shepherd us, a Prince to exalt us, a Lord to rule over us. We were made for a King and thus, in our sinfulness, we will put kings over us “the same as all the other nations have” (1Sa. 8:4 – HCSB) rather than allowing Yahweh incarnate—Yehoshua Hammashiah—Jesus the Christ—to rule us as it should be (see 1Sa. 8:7). And yet, the beauty is that one day… one day our King will rule visibly without contest, and he will shepherd us as we should be shepherded: kindly, lovingly, thoughtfully, and giving each of us sheep the opportunity to reach our fullest potential.