The Folly of Following Charisma

Better Truth, Courage, and Wisdom

Mike Scruggs

The word, “charisma,” comes from the Greek. A good translation for the original Greek meaning might be “divine favor.” In Christian history, it referred to extraordinary powers or abilities granted by the Holy Spirit for a significant and divinely ordained purpose or mission. Today, especially in a political context, it has come to mean a rare ability to arouse public devotion and enthusiasm, but it is no longer qualified by divine sanction or moral purpose. It is simply charm, glamour, and personal magnetism without solid anchors to truth, moral courage, or wisdom.

I have heard many people say that we need leaders with “charisma.” and that charisma is essential for successful political candidates. I think this is a dangerous path. We certainly need candidates who can communicate clearly and whose earnest commitment to cause and country is evident in their words as well as their deeds, but the problem with political charisma is that its most common modern understanding amounts to an extraordinary ability to sway crowds and TV audiences without any ethical context. There are a number of foundational competences and character traits associated with wise leadership that ought to far outweigh our misguided fascination with glitzy media-driven “charisma.” The kind of charisma that many media personalities, political pundits, and far too many voters are seeking is strikingly common in sociopaths. If we are to survive as a nation, we had better be looking for leaders with a strong commitment to truth. We had better be looking for strong competencies in analytical, people, and communication skills. We had better be seeking leaders who have developed both moral wisdom and managerial decision-making skills. Most of all, we are in sore need of leaders with courage, especially the moral courage that perseveres through tough-times, discouragement, criticism, and conflict.

We ought to be seeking truth, courage, and wisdom in our leaders. Here are some of my collection of instructional and inspirational quotes on the subjects:

Truth

“Wisdom is found only in truth.”—Johann von Goethe (1749-1832)

“Truth crushed to the ground, shall rise again. The eternal years of God are hers.”—William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)

“An honest man’s the noblest work of God.”—Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

“I had rather starve and rot and keep the privilege of speaking the truth than of holding all the offices that capital has to give, from the presidency on down.”—Henry Adams (1838-1918)

“I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.”—George Washington (1732-1799)

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”—Jesus Christ (John 14:6)

Courage

“Courage consists not in hazarding without fear, but being resolutely minded in a just cause.”—Plutarch (circa 49-120 AD)

“Courage…is the universal virtue of all those who choose to do the right thing over the expedient thing.”—Florence Nightengale (1820-1910)

“Where courage is not, no other virtue can survive except by accident.”—Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful until it became risky.”—C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)

“Courage: the footstool of the virtues, upon which they stand.”—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

“Real valor consists not in being insensible to danger, but in being prompt to confront and disarm it.”—Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

“If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows not fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened. The courageous man is the man who forces himself, in spite of his fear, to carry on.”—Gen. George Patton (1885-1945)

“The fear of God makes a hero; the fear of man makes a coward.”—Sgt. Alvin York (1887-1964)

Wisdom

“A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority.”—Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”—Proverbs 15:1

“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.”— Proverbs 16: 2

“To be wise, one must take time to deliberate. But when the time for action has arrived, one must stop deliberating and boldly act.”—Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

“Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.”—Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

“No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord. The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.”—Proverbs 21:30-31

“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.”—Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”—King Solomon (circa 1000 BC)