Likutei Moharan 18:3/ליקוטי מוהר"ן י״ח:ג׳

13 . Sometimes, a person himself thinks that he feels mercy for the world and wants to lead it. In truth, this person is chasing after glory, but he attributes his chasing to mercy. The truth is that he is far from this mercy. As long as a person hasn’t achieved the ultimate level of complete faith <in God>, he most certainly should not accept the dominion and leadership.

2Even someone who puts faith in some darkei ha’ Emori (superstition), although he believes in the Holy One, should certainly not accept the role of leadership. This is because principally, leadership has to do with mercy, and mercy fundamentally has to do with the removal of idol worship—even the faintest trace of idolatry. Even when [all] he says is that “a deer crossed my path,” he lacks complete mercy and should reject the role of leadership.

3This also applies to someone whose faith is great. Only after he has scrutinized himself so that he retains <none of the false> beliefs that one ought not believe in, such as superstitions, and he remains “totally faithful to God your Lord” (Deuteronomy 18:13), then the mercy is real and he deserves to lead [others].

4But [concerning] one who lacks complete faith, yet <everyone> presumes that he feels mercy for the world and he wants to lead the world, this corresponds to (Sotah 49b): “The malkhut (government) will be turned to heresy.” This is because a small amount of heresy undermines the government in its quality of leadership. It turns it to heresy, just as he, the one who is minutely heretical, turns [and takes] the Malkhut for himself.