With over half of the US being Christian, leaders should act more Christlike | Letters

Letters to the Editor
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Although hardly an expert on religion, my experience as a practicing Christian spans over 65 years. That time has been spent trying, with varying success, to answer the call of my faith to be, think, and act like Jesus Christ. Some 210 million Americans or 63% of our population similarly identify as Christians and would share this aspiration in principle.

It seems fair to expect our leaders in society to do the same. To measure up, leaders would compare favorably with a set of attributes modeled by Jesus himself.

Ideally these characteristics would be present in leaders across a social spectrum including daycare operators, school principals, coaches, and scout leaders for instance.

These attributes should also be evident in leaders of colleges and universities, foundations and non-profits, social groups, cultural institutions, and civic organizations. Of course, our church leaders would figure to adhere most closely to these standards. And Christians might expect those who work in government including elected officials, to possess these attributes, too.

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So what qualities did Jesus exhibit in his time on earth? Jesus exemplified humility, kindness, compassion and empathy, and always spoke the truth. He remained patient when tested, resisted temptation, espoused poverty over riches, and sought peace. Jesus also exhibited wisdom, courage, self-control and restraint, and obedience along with charity and benevolence, prayerfulness, and most of all, unconditional love and forgiveness.

Maybe it’s the rare human who displays all or nearly all of these traits. But when enough of these virtues, taken one by one, are known to be absent in our leaders, or worse, when their words and actions run directly counter to them, shouldn’t Christians ask ourselves whether we ought to be selecting and following them?

William Henk, Waterford 

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: With a large Christian population, leaders should try to be like Jesus