Let’s stop tolerating bad behavior. Originally, the word fiend meant “one who thinks and acts hatefully.” It was recommended that such people should be shunned and that their behavior should never be rewarded, because positive response would simply encourage more hateful behavior. The more benefits hateful people receive, the more hateful they become. So, let’s put our collective foot down and say no to fiendish behavior.

I’m not talking about becoming Pollyannas (anyone under 40, look it up), or confusing kindness with niceness, or engaging in “cancel culture” or pedantic political correctness. I am talking about ignoring the mounting practices of name-calling, humiliation, hostile labeling, and infantile acting out whenever anyone disagrees. We are witnessing some of the most powerful people in our world act like poorly supervised 6-year-olds. In recent articles one word has been used to describe Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladamir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Donald Trump, and Jair Bolsonaro: immature. Can you remember any time in our U.S. history when our president, and the major leaders of other countries, were criticized for their lack of maturity?

And what are the qualities determining such descriptions? Arrogance, bullying, insulting, name calling, tantrums, revenge, lying, acting out, lacking self-control. You may disagree with these characterizations, but they are not the qualities of strength and stability you want to see in the most powerful and influential people in the world.

Or do we? With the exception of only two names on the list, the leaders named displayed all of the immature qualities on the list long before they were granted the power they hold. Massive delusional attributes and attitudes were evident in our leaders throughout their lives. We knew exactly what we would get were we to put emotionally unintelligent people in these positions of power.

But I want to focus on the fact that this is a spiritual issue even more than a political, cultural, or governmental issue. Governing social core values and interpersonal dynamics are clear reflections of our foundational faith beliefs and commitments. Many Christians choose to ignore the fact that “love your neighbor as yourself,” occurs more often than “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength,” in scripture, and that the essential teaching “do not do to others what you would not have them do to you” (the original version of the Golden Rule we most often quote – “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”) is the primary proof of our true commitment to God. We also pretend Jesus didn’t mean it when he explained that the clearest proof of our love for Him is that we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the immigrant, give drink to the thirsty, care for the sick, and visit those in prison. Christian maturity is defined by mercy, compassion, kindness, peacemaking, Agape love, forgiveness, restorative justice, radical inclusion, and benevolent empathy. These are the qualities we should be looking for in the people we respect, support, and follow.

Political leaders are easy targets to criticize for violations of fundamental principles of religious faith and ethical behaviors. Yet, we are currently living in a world where religious faith is being weaponized by authoritarian leaders being more clearly and concisely recognized as immature, and therefore dangerous. It is imperative that we redefine the qualities and character of those we choose to lead us. As has so often been the case in the past, it is critical that we in the United States act counter-culturally. If the rest of the world is being led by the least mature, we should seek to place in power the most mature – politically, socially, corporately, in business, medicine, academia, and religion. We don’t need to attack individuals, but we must reclaim a resolve to support the highest standards of character, conduct, and conscience.