Proverbs 14:34 states Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
How should we understand the statement Righteousness exalts a nation? Often Ive heard preachers explicitly or implicitly tie this passage to the concept of God blessing a nation with righteous leaders. This in turn is tied to the idea that we should vote for candidates who profess to be Christians, or who at least seem to promote policies that are consistent with some concept of righteousness. Usually, in my experience, this means support for candidates who claim to be born again and are pro-life and anti-gay marriage / gay rights. I dont think this is a fair reading of the passage.
Its important to understand what this proverb is and isnt. It is applicable to all nations, not merely Israel. It isnt, however, connected to Gods covenant relationship with Israel. This is a critical distinction.
The leaders of Gods chosen people the kings of Israel and Judah we read about in the Bible were uniquely responsible for the blessings to be bestowed upon or withheld from the nation. When the king turned from God and his law, as most did, God judged the nation. When the king followed and enforced Gods law, God blessed the nation. These judgments and blessings took the form of military and material success, consistent with Gods covenant to establish the nation as a great people.
The same is not true of the rulers of other nations, including the elected leaders of democracies such as the United States. God has no covenant with any nation other than Israel. Our leaders are not proxies for national faithfulness to a covenant in the same way as the Israelite and Judaic kings. There is no military or material blessing that God grants or withholds based primarily on the behavior of our leaders. Therefore, we should not expect that our national prosperity depends directly on the individual righteousness of our leaders.
Why does this matter? It matters because our responsibility as citizens extends beyond voting for leaders whom we perceive to be Christian or otherwise relatively righteous in their personal conduct. We must also consider whether those who wish to lead possess characteristics such as wisdom, justice and mercy.
For example, Prov. 20:26 speaks of a wise king who punishes the wicked; Prov. 20:28 speaks of a king being made secure through love and faithfulness; Prov. 25:2 states that it is the glory of a king to search out a matter; Prov. 29:4 states that By justice a king gives a country stability ; and Prov. 29:4 states If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure. In short, Proverbs pictures the good king as one who analyzes issues thoroughly and administers justice evenhandedly.
It isnt enough for a ruler to profess some degree of personal piety. Our responsibility as Christian citizens isnt satisfied merely by voting for the Christian candidate, or even for the candidate who agrees with us on hot-button issues such as abortion and gay rights. We need to look at the total package and choose leaders who are capable of making wise decisions.