If you want to improve your life and change the world, here is the one thing you might want to start doing every day: make your bed. That was the advice given by Admiral William McRaven during a commencement speech at the Univ. of Texas. Reflecting on his 36 years as a navy seal, and rising to the rank of Admiral, he attributed much of his success to some very simple habits, like making your bed.
It was a simple task, (he said) mundane at best. But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that we were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle-hardened SEALs, but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.
If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.
Great advice. I’m not sure that I followed it when I was growing up, but today, I make my bed every day. The little things are important. The small habits and simple disciplines we follow in life can help us to do more than we ever thought we could do. When I first started running, I couldn’t make it a mile. I kept going out and tried to run a little farther without stopping. Once I could make one mile, I increased my distance just a little each week. Slowly I was able to run 3 miles, and then 5. Those small increases allowed me to run in 3 half marathons - something I never thought I would be able to do.
Simple daily habits really can improve our lives. It can help us get healthier, physically stronger, and more accomplished in music or the arts. Simple habits can improve a marriage, make us better parents, and simple habits can help us better, more effective leaders. Today we are going to look at three habits that can help us lead like Jesus because these are habits we see in Jesus’ life.
#1 Model Humility.
In many ways this goes back to the servant's heart and our motivation for being a leader. While we talked about this in the first week of this series, humility is important enough to good leadership that we should talk about it again. Proverbs 11:2. When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. As a leader, this is an important proverb to remember because as we rise in leadership it is easy to become proud.
As a leader, people look up to us. We begin to feel important, maybe more important than those around us. It’s easy to think that the rules don’t apply to us, or that it’s ok to cut corners and not live according to the principles and standards we might talk about. The news is full of people who became leaders and lost their humility. They became proud and it led to their downfall. As we grow in influence and leadership we have to work at staying humble.
One daily habit that can help us model humility in our lives is to look for one thing we can do for someone else each and every day. The opportunities are all around us and if we look for them, and take them, it will shape our lives and leadership. Jesus was always aware of the people around Him and He went out of His way to help them.
When parents brought their children to Jesus so He could bless them, the disciples wanted to send the children away. As a leader Jesus was too important to be with children, but Jesus said, no bring them to me. He went out of His way to honor and bless them.
When Jesus made His way into a city one day there was a funeral procession coming out. A woman was burying her only child. Jesus didn’t have to, but He stopped the procession and raised the boy to life.
When Jesus was surrounded by crowds of people and felt someone touch Him and be healed, He stopped what He was doing so he could find that person and encourage them.
Every day Jesus saw people who needed help, or acceptance, or love, and He took the time to reach out to them. He modeled humility and made it part of His life.
This week, find one person every day who needs your help, your words of love, or your encouragement and reach out to them. When you see someone in need - help them. When you see something that needs to be done - do it. Don’t wait for someone else or look to someone else, model humility.
A week ago I was reminded of this when I was walking through the Weis parking lot. I had gotten out of my car at the same time an older couple got out of the car next to me. The husband came around and got his wife and we started walking in together. I saw the empty soda bottle on the ground but was going to walk around it when I saw the man start to pick it up. I said, wait, I’ll get it. His willingness to be humble and pick up someone else’s trash reminded me to be humble and just do the right thing. If we will model humility every day, we will learn to lead like Jesus. It really is a simple habit that can change our hearts and lives and the lives of others.
#2 Learn how to handle criticism.
If we are a leader then there will be criticism. There will be someone who won't like what we did, or how we did it. Someone won’t like the direction we are going, or the decisions we are making. Criticism is part of leadership and we need to learn how and when to respond. Jesus was truly a master at this.
Time after time, the religious leaders would question Jesus and criticize Him for the things He did or didn’t do, and Jesus knew how and when to respond. In Luke 4 we read about Jesus returning to His hometown of Nazareth. While the people at first admired Jesus’ teaching, the more He spoke, the more upset people got. They were offended that someone who grew up among them was now coming back telling them how to live out their faith. Their criticism grew to the point where they became so angry that and drove Jesus out of the city. Luke 4:29-30. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Their criticism grew to the point of violence, but Jesus remained silent. There were times when Jesus said nothing and walked away, and there were times when Jesus spoke up and defended His actions, or the actions of His disciples. It is important for us to learn when to respond to criticism and when to remain silent.
In our instant communication society, it is easy to feel like we have to respond to every comment, every criticism, and every word spoken to us or about us. We get a critical email and we want to shoot off a reply defending our actions. Something happens that we don’t like and we want to tweet our opinion, post our view, or tell our side of the story. It is easy to respond quickly but what we need to do is stop and think about if, how, and when to respond. Probably the most important habit we can develop as leaders is to stop and take a breath before we respond to any kind of criticism. Thomas Jefferson said, if you are angry, count to 10 before you speak. If very angry, count to 100. A good habit for us all.
Because Jesus had learned how to deal with criticism during His life, at the moment of His greatest criticism, as He stood trial before religious and government leaders, He knew exactly how to respond.
Mark 14:55-61 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree. Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
I often read this and want Jesus to speak up and defend Himself. I want Him to fight back and answer all their questions, and put people in their place, but Jesus knew the larger purpose and plan so remained silent. Jesus’ silence here is not cowardly, it is powerful. He is not being complicit and agreeing with what is being said, He just knows that it is not the time or place to respond.
While our first response when criticized, falsely accused, or just misunderstood is to defend ourselves, but it might be more prudent and powerful to give simple answers like Jesus. When I was being criticized as a pastor in a previous church, I wanted to defend myself. In response to a letter that highlighted several things this person didn’t like, I wrote out a lengthy reply with bullet points addressing every critical comment. I took my reply to the church leadership and while they agreed with me, they decided to simply respond with a note saying, We don’t find any validity in your comments or concerns. Thank you. Two sentences, that’s all they wanted to send. I struggled with that response because I wanted to defend myself and make myself understood, but finally I agreed with their wisdom and it worked. That man knew he couldn’t draw the church leadership into lengthy discussions and debates so he moved on, and the church moved forward.
One simple habit that can help us all deal with criticism better is to simply stop before we reply. Don’t hit reply and draft an email. Don’t text what first comes to your mind. Don’t tweet or post or share your thoughts. Stop and think. Stop and pray. Is this a battle worth fighting? Is a response going to help? Are people ready to listen to your reply? Sometimes a response is needed, but it will always be better to respond after a period of reflection. A simple and healthy habit to help us deal with criticism is to first stop and think. Count to 10, or 100. Reflect, gain perspective, and get input from others before you reply.
#3 Let God Walk With You
The higher we rise in leadership, the lonelier it gets and the more we feel like we are shouldering the burden alone. It is never good to be alone as a leader. We need God to walk with us and lead us and this means we cannot give up on the simple habits of daily spiritual disciplines. Worship, prayer, reading God’s word, spending time in silence and reflection, serving others, and surrendering to God daily all need to be part of our lives. Jesus never gave up these spiritual disciples.
At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus prayed for direction. When He needed to choose a team, He prayed all night. Before He had to deal with the criticism and accusations from the religious and government leaders at a trial, He prayed with His friends in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus didn’t forgo times of prayer as He became a leader, He protected them and made them a priority.
We also find Jesus in the synagogue for worship on regular basis, and He quoted the scriptures often. Worship and God’s word remained a daily part of Jesus’ life. The night Jesus was arrested, He first worshipped with His disciples and celebrated the Passover with them, and then used that moment to serve them by washing their feet, and then they sang a hymn, and then they prayed. Jesus never neglected the daily disciplines of His spiritual life and He shows us the importance of these habits for our lives.
The first followers of Jesus also devoted themselves to these daily disciplines and habits, and the result was that God used them to lead others to salvation. Acts 2:42-47
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
As Peter and the rest of the disciples became leaders, they embraced the habits they saw in Jesus. They devoted themselves to God’s word and prayer. Every day they met together for worship in the Temple, they gave freely to God, and they served one another. By allowing the Holy Spirit to walk with them daily they became the kind of leaders who could influence people’s hearts and lives. They truly led like Jesus.
What simple habits do you need to maintain in your own life to lead like Jesus? What spiritual disciplines might have been set aside during this past year that you need to pick up again? Daily prayer or Bible Reading? Weekly worship or giving? All good leaders need to remain healthy in body, mind, AND spirit and this means we have to be devoted to the important habits we see in Jesus.
Here are three habits that can help us lead like Jesus:
1. Model humility.
2. Stop and pray before you respond to criticism.
3. Maintain daily spiritual disciplines that will keep you close to God.
And if you don’t know where to start - then start here. Tomorrow morning… make your bed.
Next Steps
Lead Like Jesus - Habits
Do you make your bed every morning? Why? Why not?
● What difference might you experience if you embraced this one simple habit?
● What other simple habit has made a difference in your life (physically, emotionally, spiritually)?
Three habits to help us lead Like Jesus:
1. Model humility:
Jesus modeled humility by serving people daily:
● Luke 7:11-15, Luke 8: 42-48, Luke 18:15-17
What one thing can you do to serve people daily?
2. Learn to handle criticism well:
Jesus handled criticism by knowing when to be silent and when to speak
● Luke 4:14-30, Mark 14:57-65, Mark 15:1-5
What one thing can you do to respond to criticism in effective ways? How can you stop and think before replying?
3. Allow God to walk with you and lead you:
Jesus allowed God to walk with Him and lead Him by a commitment to daily spiritual disciplines
● Mark 1:35-39, Mark 3:1-6, Mark 14:17-26, Mark 14:31-39
What one spiritual discipline do you need to adopt this week?
