How Jesus’ Love and Lessons in Empathy Taught me to Lead with a Servant’s Heart
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
I recently appeared as a guest on the Bible & Theology Matters Podcast. In the two-part episode, we covered an array of topics—from my personal testimony of receiving the Lord’s grace, to Jesus teaching me empathy within a pivotal life-trial, to learning the value of servant-hearted leadership—that which is modeled after Jesus Himself.
Learning About the Gift of True Grace
I grew up in a devout Catholic family, never missing a Sunday service, and attending confession just about every Sunday before church. Along with this, I constantly carried an enormous burden of guilt, feeling the weight of my sin, knowing I would never be good enough to make it to Heaven.
When I was a teenager, my life was changed when I joined a Protestant youth group where I began to learn that what I had been taught as a child about trying to earn my salvation by doing a bunch of religious stuff was just not Biblical. Specifically, while on a youth group retreat, someone showed me Scripture about the beautiful sacrifice Jesus made to pay the debt for my sins that I would never be able to pay. That was the moment I learned of God’s grace. I prayed a simple prayer for salvation, and my burden of shame was instantly lifted. That’s when I realized it wasn’t about trying to earn my way through religion and sacraments, but about what Jesus had done and having a personal relationship with Him. I then realized—no matter what I did—I couldn’t earn my salvation; Jesus had already paid the price for my sin. I only had to accept the free gift that He was offering to me to forgive my sins by placing my faith in Him as my Lord and Savior.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
That moment—receiving that beautiful saving grace—is what set me up well for every aspect of my life, positioning my heart’s desire to lead like Jesus.
Asking “What” Instead of “Why”
My wife and I endured a time of hardship in our lives when our newborn daughter, Linley, suffered from a medical mistake from a simple procedure that left her with mental and physical impairments. She very nearly passed away, but God intervened.
Through answered prayers, Linley survived and has lived a life with assistance from others.
In the heart-wrenching depths of initially processing this circumstance, I was angry at God. While I didn’t lose my faith, I questioned God. I told Him that He had made a serious mistake and it was not fair to me, as I listed off my spiritual resume for Him (as if He didn’t already know it). I tried to reason with God and my anger gradually turned to guilt. I began wondering what sin I committed that had as its consequence this terrible tragedy for my beautiful little Linley. As a newborn infant, she certainly had not done anything to deserve this.
Then, one blessed morning during my devotional, God led me to John 9 which shares the story of Jesus and His disciples’ encounter with the blind man. In this story, the disciples ask Jesus if it was the man or his parents’ sin which had brought the infliction of blindness upon him. That was my question! Jesus responded, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned … but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:3
Reading this, my heart was transformed. I realized this wasn’t about me or my shortcomings. There was nothing I could do, and I wasn’t in control. I had to trust God. Through this, I learned that instead of asking God “why,” it’s more important to ask God “what.” He will always teach us something in the depths of our most difficult circumstances if we allow Him to. It was through this trial that the Lord totally transformed me and taught me empathy.
Upon discovering empathy—the magic that works in all our relationships—my life changed in every aspect, including how I approached business leadership.
Without empathy, we will inevitably fail as leaders, in our personal relationships and in service toward others. Allowing the Lord to transform my heart in this way was a game changer in my life.
To hear my interview with Bible & Theology Matters, click the button below.
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