https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/09/us/politics/jimmy-carter-born-again-president.html

Jimmy Carter, who served as our 39th president from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981, died on December 29, 2024, at 100 years of age. Carter carried the distinction of being the only president from the state of Georgia and also of being open about his testimony of being born again. One could say he was the first president who ran on being a Christian; however, this reputation has not prevented him from being referred to often as the “worst president in American history.” While that subject could be argued, the purpose of this writing is to look at the aspect of Carter as an open Christian and why this fact did not keep him off of the “worst president in American history” list.

Christian does not mean competent.

We should be careful when choosing someone to represent us in government just because he is a “Christian.” A person who serves in the highest office in the land should be competent. In 2016, I found myself on the wrong side of many brethren because I would not endorse the “Christian candidate” in the Republican presidential primary. In fact, I did not even vote for him in the primary. Jimmy Carter is proof that Christian does not mean competent. I want a competent mechanic. I want a competent doctor. I certainly want a competent governor, congressman, and president.

 Weakness is not meekness.

A study of the Jimmy Carter presidency reveals he was a weak president. His weakness hurt America and ,therefore, hurt its citizens. It put our country at risk by emboldening our enemies. Weakness is not meekness. A simple definition of meekness is strength under control, which should be a characteristic of every Christian. Carter’s actions and behaviors proved that, as our president, he was not meek; he was weak. Being a Christian is not a loophole for being unwilling to make hard decisions or to take hard stands. We should be careful of what we want in a leader. Meekness is desired. However, in the election of 1976, America elected weakness, not meekness.

Achieving results is more important than delivering rhetoric.

Giving a good political speech is an art. While the words of the speech matter, the speaker himself must be able and willing to deliver the message successfully by connecting with and communicating to his listeners. However, a speech does not solve any problems. Carter, like every presidential candidate before and after him, gave speeches filled with promises. His southern-gentleman style and his Christian persona won him the presidency. This is no small feat and should be recognized. However, he failed miserably when it came to results. His addresses to the nation, while offering optimism, contradicted his decisions which delivered pessimism. So many are fooled today by rhetoric while failing to look closely enough at results.

I am not advocating that we vote against someone because he claims to be a Christian. I am just making the argument that we should not vote for someone just because he says he is one. As I write this, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president in just a few days. I do not know if he is a saved man or not; neither do you. I pray he is saved, but I did not vote for him because he was or was not a Christian. I know of many professing Christians who have publicly stated they could not vote for Trump because their Christian values prevent it. That choice is their right and freedom. Jimmy Carter would have appreciated their votes in 1976.

I want my elected leaders to be born again. However, the Jimmy Carter presidency reminds us that having a Christian leader does not guarantee that we will have a good leader. Over the last several election cycles, I have watched Christians “foaming at the mouth” over politicians who pander to the Christian vote. Many of those same Christians fail to realize these politicians see them as just another voting bloc to help them win. The Jimmy Carter experiment reminds us that our hope is not in Washington D.C. or in a president.

Our hope is in “God We Trust.”