It may come as a surprise to some people that I have even a remote interest in sartorial matters, but even if my budget has seldom allowed me to indulge in my taste for reasonably excellent fashion, I at least try to be aware of what is and what is not good and sturdy clothing as well as styles that are at least somewhat flattering to my lanky frame (for example, when I get back to the United States and try to rebuild my wardrobe I really need some European-cut dress shirts). My interests in clothing are not only of the fashion variety, but even more so on the moral and philosophical implications of clothing, referring not merely to our fashion but to our robes of office and other political matters.

One of the main reasons why power is so addictive and why people are so unwilling to leave political offices is that the people who are in positions of power (and others who are dealing with those in power) have a difficulty in distinguishing between the honor due to an office and the honor due to a man. This is a very delicate and tricky matter, especially in cultures and institutions where an extreme amount of honor, approaching or reaching idolatry, is given to people in positions of power. As a devout Christian who believes both that God commands respect to people in offices as well as in the moral imperative of holding leaders accountable to God’s laws for their actions (which leaders may not find to be all that respectful), I recognize a strong tension between competing strong moral claims both to respect an office as well as consider the people in those offices as equals and fellow subjects of God.

This is to state the problem, not provide a solution. The problem exists for both insiders and outsiders concerning power. For insiders, the problem is to make sure to distinguish between one’s own personal honor and dignity, which one has by merit from one’s own actions (or by grace if one has been forgiven for sins and faults) and the respect and honor that is due to the office. If we are in positions of power, we must be aware that some of the honor and respect and dignity we possess is not deserved, but is rather a result of our holding of particular offices and status. To the extent that we did not earn or deserve those positions or offices, we have not earned or merited or deserved that honor, and we must therefore wear the robes of office carefully, seeking to grow into them.

For outsiders, the problem is somewhat different. All too often in this world positions of great power and responsibility are held by those who are clearly and openly unworthy of respect or honor. In such a situation we must carefully differentiate between the honor due to an office, which remains regardless of the unworthiness of the person in that office, and the moral responsibility we have to hold the unworthy leader accountable to God’s standards (just as we hold ourselves accountable to those standards). All too often people lose respect for authority because of the bad behavior of authorities, which is itself wrong. We have to distinguish between the personal and positional honor and respect we have for others and remember that our obligation to respect offices is not conditional on the worthiness of the people in them, though I have often wished it were so.

We ought to note an additional problem that results from this asymmetry between the honor due to an office and the personal honor and respect we have for people who hold those offices. Those who are deeply honorable and respectable people have little or no difficulty leaving offices when they are done, because they have sufficient merit and worthiness not to need to clothe their own nakedness and shame with the fancy robes of an office. If they wish to return to their homes and farms, or if the people no longer appreciate their rule, they can step down from office happily and without regrets, because their personal honor is great and they do not need an office to be and to feel honorable and decent in the yes of God, themselves, and other decent and worthy people.

However, in stark contrast, those who are unworthy of the honor and dignity of high offices are those who long to cling on to such honor and dignity as long as possible. Often, such people may be aware somewhere deep within themselves that they do not deserve the respect they receive as people in authority, and because they are insecure and crave and long for that respect and love of others so deeply [1], they are unwilling to lose the offices and positions that grant them a respect they do not deserve. As a result, there is a deep asymmetry in power between the righteous, who are perfectly willing to go back to their more useful functions and the worthless and unworthy who long for power to give them a dignity and respect they lack normally [2].

What are we to do about this problem? Since the vast majority of those who seek positions of power are not worthy of it, there must be a means by which those who are worthy and unwilling to scheme and ambitiously seek authority must be placed in positions of authority commensurate with their abilities by the wisdom of those who know their abilities and worth best. Likewise, there must be ways to remove people who are not worthy of their offices, especially if such people behave in ways that are abusive and immoral, bringing shame and an evil reputation to the offices that they hold. These two problems cannot be solved merely through the development of constitutional means and processes (though these are no doubt necessary) but require a generally moral and upright body of leadership that is at least broadly prevalent as well among the political population of citizens and ordinary folk as well. The reason why the political crises of legitimacy in our time are so long-lasting and severe is because moral virtue is lacking in both governors and governed, with the resulting lack of honor and respect for offices as well as tyrannical and abusive use of offices. The only solution to this problem is either divine intervention or widespread and total repentance in a large cross section of our societies. Barring either, there are no solutions to the political problems of our times, since we are the problem. Clothes may make the man, but we too are possessed by our privileges and unwilling to part with them.

[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/the-deepest-need-of-the-human-heart/

[2] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/come-and-take-shelter-in-my-shade-anti-monarchial-sentiments-in-judges-9-and-1-samuel-8/