Character

Psalm 15 opens with David asking a question: "Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?  Who may live in your holy hill?"  As king, David is the gatekeeper to Jerusalem, his capital city ("God's sanctuary," "the holy hill").  When you are king, a lot of people want to hang out with you.  They want to be your friend so they can influence you and gain benefit from your power and wealth.  In the ancient world, kings could not rule without having other powerful men allied with them.  A king needed to have an inner circle of other powerful figures who would support his rule and strengthen his army.  So when David asks the question at the start of Psalm 15, he is asking: "God who should be my allies?  Who should I let get close to me?  Who should I as a gatekeeper to Jerusalem let in?" 

To most kings, this wasn't much of a question.  The answer was obvious.  A king wanted to associate with men who had many soldiers to bring to an army.  They wanted men who had wealth to contribute to royal coffers.  Kings wanted their inner circle to be men who had the money and power to build a kingdom.  But David says that, that is not what he is looking for.  Rather than gathering men of power, he wants to gather men of character.  Look how David describes the people who will be close to him:

He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
³ and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,
⁴ who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the Lord,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,
⁵ who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

 

David is interested in gathering allies who treat other people well.  They don't slander or gossip or use words to try to increase their own reputations while undermining the reputation of others.  They don't have hatred toward other people.  They stick to their word even when that requires great sacrifice.  They help others without considering how they might benefit too.  David says in my inner circle character will matter more than power.  Why?  It is because people of character have a staying power that people of character cannot match.  Verse 5 says: "He who does these things will never be shaken."

 

When it comes time to vote, who is it that we are normally impressed with?  We are normally impressed with people of power.  It is the rich, the handsome, the politically connected who win our votes.  Perhaps in choosing our leaders, we need to get back to the principles of David.  Perhaps we need to realize that moral character and a deep compassion for others makes for more stable leadership and government than riches, charisma, or political savvy.