Rex Tillerson’s troubled tenure at the State Department came to painful end this week. The president sacked him as the then-Secretary of State was traveling in Africa. The firing was sudden and its manner discourteous.

It was also needed.

At Odds With the President

First, Tillerson is an accomplished corporate executive, but under his watch the State Department has become not only demoralized but immobilized. Call it the “Tale of the Two 100s”: Since he was confirmed, better than 100 diplomats have resigned and another 100 ambassadors have yet to be appointed.

Second, and more importantly, Tillerson was at odds with the President he served. This goes beyond Mr. Trump’s sometimes outlandish statements or late-night “tweets.” 

He seemed out-of-sync with the President from early on. The temperament of the two men did not mesh. Trump’s brashness and independence could never comfortably coincide with Tillerson’s more moderate and collegial approach to leadership.

Trump would be a hard guy to work for. He is given to outbursts of temper and verbal excesses that embarrass the country, let alone his own key aides.

Yet any president has a right to have people who, whatever their background and disposition, share his approach to the critical issues facing our country. Tillerson was not one of them.

Same Goals, Different Strategies

Third, Tillerson has a very different idea of diplomacy than the president. The president has a vision of an America that primarily pursues its own national security and vital interests. This is not to say that Tillerson does not share these goals. And in fairness to him, he sometimes ran afoul of his boss when stating the obvious — that Russia is responsible for poisoning two people on an English park bench, for example.

Instead, like some of his predecessors, he seemed to believe that personal relationships and muffled pronouncements are essential to diplomacy. In other words, in this approach, diplomacy becomes an end in itself. Speaking softly but carrying a big stick is a good foreign policy, to be sure. But for the stick to be worth anything, both allies and adversaries need to know it will be used when the U.S. deems it justified.

Yes, the job of the diplomat is to diffuse tension. But not at the cost of mollifying dictators or covering America’s needs with a veneer of niceness.

Barack Obama seemed never to grasp this. From erasing his own “red line” in Syria to telling then-Russian president Dmitri Medvedev he would have “more flexibility” on arms reduction after his 2012 re-election, Mr. Obama very much wanted America to be liked by all. This was, in part at least, due to his belief in diminished American power and a United States that was just part of the community of free nations — not its leader.

Similarly, Tillerson did not take the hard-nosed approach of people like U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley or his successor-designate, CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Given that we live in volatile world, large segments of which (including China) are led by dangerous people, toughness is what’s called for. We need more vinegar and less oil. Tillerson doesn’t seem to have recognized this.

His lack of toughness was evident when, in 2013, he was one of a handful of corporate leaders who pushed the Boy Scouts into accepting young men who are open about their sexual attraction to other young men. As I predicted at the time, this led to full acceptance of homosexuality, including in the Scoutmaster ranks, in what historically has been an organization informed by Judeo-Christian moral teaching.

Put another way, the then-President of Exxon-Mobil caved in to the demands of the homosexual lobby. This speaks to a lack of moral courage that Trump should have seen as a warning sign.

During his confirmation hearing, Tillerson failed to impress. He fumbled in answering basic questions and seemed not only uninterested in but unaware of American policies concerning international religious persecution.

Praying for Our Leaders

All Americans should wish Rex Tillerson well. But now we should turn our attention to Mike Pompeo and, even more, President Trump, asking God to give them the wisdom to know how to lead long-term and what decisions to make in the moment. And there are many critical moments.

As Paul wrote Timothy: “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way” (I Tim. 2:1-4).