Jesus’ series of short parables in today’s gospel reading (Lk
6:39-45) allow us to discern the qualities of a true disciple and a truly great
man for that matter. I would like to highlight four of these qualities
borrowing some words from Eisenhower’s quote. I propose that these qualities
can be our goal for personal growth and may also be use as qualifications for
choosing our public leaders.
Vision. A great
leader must have a vision. A leader without a vision is like a blind man
leading another blind. “A blind man
cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?” (Lk
6: 39). A leader without a vision brings his people to nowhere. He is going to
squash their hopes and lead them to perdition. But a leader with a vision
sees where to go and leads his people to become a people they want to be.
It is important then that this vision be enlightened by
Christ and be guided by the Christian values of truth, justice, and love. Otherwise,
without truth, a leader may mislead his people with manipulative propaganda and
even form their opinion by spreading lies and fake news, for instance. Without
the value of justice, a leader may act whimsically disregarding what is due to
each and may even trample upon their rights. Without love, the poor will remain
uncared for and power will be used solely for personal interest and, worst, for
violent subjugation of the people.
Hence, Christians who are called to leadership
responsibility must have a vision enlightened by Christ in order to truly lead
their people to a better quality of life.
Integrity. Integrity
is the antidote to hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is described by our Lord in this
parable: “How can you say to your
brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you
yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take
the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the
speck that is in your brother’s eye” (v. 42). In saying this, Jesus is
teaching his disciples to refrain from making hypocritical judgment on others
and, instead, to proactively engage in self-examination in order to correct
oneself first and become a credible critic to others.
Integrity is being truthful to oneself as Spencer Johnson
has it: “Integrity is telling myself the
truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.” The Lord wants us
to take out the log out of our own eye first and see who we really are, warts
and all. Acceptance of the truth of one’s own faults and flaws and,
consequently, living in consistent uprightness mark a person with integrity.
Such a person becomes a credible leader and a brother to those whom he
approaches for fraternal correction.
The Lord invites us to become a person of integrity rather than
hypocrisy.
Profundity of
Character. A person of profound character has inner depth and a treasure of
good values and principles in his heart. Whatever goodness is stored in his
heart manifests in his deeds. “Agere
siquitor esse.” What we do flows from what we are. As the Lord says in a parable, “For there is no good tree which produces
bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For
each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns,
nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good man out of the
good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good” (vv. 43-45).
The analogy of the tree and its fruits reminds us that what
we do flows from our character. Hence, it is our goal to acquire such profundity
of character so as to be able to make a difference and positive impact on the
people we serve. For those vying for public leadership, they can be evaluated
by their tract record, i.e. what have they done to uplift the lives of the
people? The fruits of their lives manifest who they are deep inside.
Power of Articulation.
Speech is a powerful tool for good or evil. With our words we can either
inspire or insult, bless or curse. Just as our deeds flow from our character,
our words flow from whatever is stored in our hearts. “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth
what is good; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (vv.
45).
Our words reveals the disposition of our hearts; a person
with integrity then speaks of the truth and whatever is good and noble but a
person of malice speaks with vulgarity, insult, irresponsible accusations and
lies. We can have a glimpse of what’s inside a person through the window of his
words.
The Lords invites us to store goodness in our hearts that we
may speak of what is noble, true, and blessed.
Truly a great man and a great disciple of our Lord nurtures
for himself the qualities of vision, integrity, character, and noble speech. A
leader without these qualities is dangerous!
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