Politicians
should Comply with Their Term Limits
Politicians should be subject to
term limits, whether they are righteous or wicked, praiseworthy or shameful,
respectable or detestable.
Throughout history, mankind has desired to have human leaders, and, to
an extent, the Lord has provided them. God has appointed judges, prophets,
priests, elders, leaders, and kings over the centuries; but the true headship
remained in His hands until Israel begged for a king. After that, we can see
the turmoil that resulted between the kings of Israel, which started with David
and Saul.1 We see in Israel’s history a related instance:
. . . . The Jews, elate with success, and attributing
it to the generalship of Gideon, proposed making him a king, saying, Rule thou
over us, thou and thy son and thy son’s son. Here was temptation in its fullest
extent; not a kingdom only, but an hereditary one, but Gideon in the piety of
his soul replied, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you,
THE LORD SHALL RULE OVER YOU. Words need not be more explicit; Gideon doth not
decline the honor but denieth their right to give it;2
The New Testament Scripture teaches:
Everyone must submit
himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that
which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by
God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against
what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.
Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right
and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do
wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s
servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it
is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible
punishment but also because of conscience.
This is also why you pay
taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.
Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then
revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.3
From this Scripture passage we learn that we,
as Christians, are to submit to the authorities, which God has established. We
learn that we are to pay their taxes and respect the leadership over us,
whether we agree with them or not. How does this apply to a politician’s term
limit? It applies because a leader, or in this case a politician, will know the
weight of his office when he realizes that God has given him authority to
administer justice. That is a heavy burden. Likewise, when the people know that
their leadership is appointed by God, they are prone to keep a closer eye on
their leaders; thus accountability develops between a Christian people and
their government.
Should a man hold office as long as he is virtuous and removed if he is
corrupted? Cases arise in which great men of virtue and righteousness are
willing to lead us beyond his maximum term limit, but should we allow him to do
so? It is a hard question, but the answer should be no. History teaches us that after winning
independence from Britain such a man existed: that man was named George
Washington. The people of our fair young country wanted to make this great man
our king (that is, our leader for life), but he refused. Instead, Washington
only served two terms as the President of the United States of America. In
doing so, he set up a precedent that should still hold true: our political
leaders should be subject to term limits. If we allow even righteous men to hold the reins
of power farther than their term allows, then we rob ourselves and them. Their
children might be expected to carry on after them in the same manner; but what
if they fail? Over time if a man rules with absolute power, whether righteously
or wickedly, he is prone to attempt to leave some of his power with his family
and friends. He should not rule for life, the risk and dangers that follow are
too great to trifle with.
This is a simple truth. We cannot expect our
leaders, whether local or executive, to serve lifelong terms. When and if we
do, we go against justice, common sense, wisdom, and, most importantly, God
history book, the Bible. Men often become prideful when they have a whole life
of superiority; and if by some miracle they do not, then their posterity may collapse
under the pressure that their relative left them later on down the road.
In
order to move forward, we must have a leadership body that changes. It is great
when a man devotes his life to public service, but he should not stay in the
same position forever. If one man cannot be president for his entire life, then
should another be a mayor or a governor for his whole life? No. Politicians should not be allowed to be freed
from term limits, whether their character is praise worthy or not.
1. Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings,
2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles
2. Common Sense by Tomas Paine
3. Romans 13:1-7 NIV
