One might think that it would almost be impossible to follow Jesus" practices in this day and age. There couldn't possibly be anything that Jesus taught over 2,000 years ago that could be applied in the business world. This is untrue. There are several aspects of Jesus" teaching that are very applicable in these modern times. We will examine three separate chapters from one of Charles C. Manz's books, "The Leadership Wisdom of Jesus: Practical Lessons for Today", and see how they can be used in everyday business. .
The first is "Logs Before Specks, or Lead Thyself First". The following passage was an important lesson Jesus was trying to teach his followers on how to look within themselves and not judge others before we judge ourselves. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged? For in the same way you judge other, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, "Let me take that speck out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye". (Matthew 7:1-5; New International Version). Often times we try to point out other's shortcomings, their sawdust, when we ourselves have much larger problems, the planks. We are blinded by the gratification by tearing down others and showing them their problems, when oftentimes our own lives are in dire need of examination. Once we have removed the planks-or problems-from our own lives we can effectively help other's solve their own problems in a caring and compassionate way. We help facilitate others to find the answers they were looking for by modeling to them that we ourselves must look inward and learn how to lead ourselves and ultimately this is achieved on a higher spiritual plane.