I read an interesting study that looked at judges and their rulings based on what they ate! In 2010, researchers tracked 8 judges in 1,100 parole-board hearings over 10 months. The judges averaged 22 years of experience.
Their findings? “The chances of a prisoner being granted parole depended on the time of day that the judge heard the case.”
Prisoners’ odds for getting their parole granted were highest in the morning right after breakfast. About 65% were granted a parole at that time. Then for the next few hours, the chances of getting a favorable parole hearing started to plummet. This was followed by a cycle of peaks and valleys that repeated itself throughout the day.
Prisoners’ chances of parole leapt back up to 65% at two distinct times: 1) right after the judges’ mid-morning snack, and 2) again after lunch.
The article concluded: “To put it bluntly, the judges’ ability to make decisions was about as reliable as a kindergartner who needs a snack break.”
And these are the people making decisions about right and wrong!
Now I’m not trying to bash judges here. I’m just making a point that we already know… Imperfect people cannot judge perfectly!
Here’s the problem… As humans, we have a tendency to idolize and “look to” leaders to save us. But these are imperfect people, so they will inevitably fail us!
In Ecclesiastes 4:1, Solomon makes a pessimistic observation about leaders. He says, “Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.”
It’s not that every leader is wicked, but every leader will fail us at some point. Often, the oppression comes from the very people we are looking to for help!
This might cause us to give up on leaders completely. But instead of giving up on leaders, we need to put our trust in the ONE leader who can rule perfectly…. Jesus Christ!
It says in Revelation 17:14, “for he is Lord of lords and King of kings,”
When a word is used twice, it is referring to the “ultimate” or “greatest.” So Revelation is referring to Jesus as, “Jesus Christ… the GREATEST king!”
Let’s be honest, President Trump wasn’t able to save us. President Biden won’t be able to save us. But when King Jesus returns, he will be the perfect king and perfect leader that we need!
Let’s look to Jesus. Let’s put our trust in HIM today! He is the only one who won’t let us down.