Acceptance of the responsibility of political leadership in a democracy must include the commitment to always act in the public interest. When elected leaders put their own personal gain and political prestige above the general welfare they subvert the principles of democratic freedom.

We are concerned that political and community leaders at so many levels of government and society often appear to be more interested in power than they are in the welfare of their constituencies. We believe that decisions based on political expediency alone can lead to a violation of, the scriptural admonition, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”

We call upon all who have been elected to public office and who serve in the public domain to put the welfare of those they serve above personal and partisan interests. As evangelicals, we also recognize that we must always place the general welfare above our special interests and ask nothing for ourselves [that] we are not willing to allow for others.