Loaves and Fishes
From Memoirs: Fifty Years of Political Reflection by Raymond Aron (New York: Holmes & Meier, 1990), pp. 63 (ePub):
So grateful to you for having given me so many subjects of meditation. The prime minister, minister of foreign affairs, possesses exceptional authority, he is a man out of the ordinary. But you, who have spoken so well about Germany and the dangers appearing on the horizon, what would you do if you were in his place?
I often think about leadership by looking at the life of Jesus. I am especially interested in how he managed to communicate his ideas clearly, build trust and authority, and attract a following. He also developed new leaders and ensured his teachings would continue after he was gone—talk about creating a succession plan! Last Sunday’s sermon, titled “The First Brick,” was on the vital role of a cornerstone in building construction. The sermon, though not directly addressing leadership or values, made me think about those concepts. Imagine you’ve spent hours preparing an amazing meal for ten people, all set for dinner under the stars. You lay out all the tasty dishes on the table, and just as everyone’s about to dig in, the table collapses. Turns out, it wasn’t strong enough to hold all that food. Just like that, your perfect evening is ruined. Just like the table that wasn’t sturdy enough for your dinner, the same principle applies to building construction. Every building requires a foundation that can support its weight and prevent collapse under certain kinds of pressure, whether environmental or otherwise. The cornerstone, or foundation stone, is the first stone laid for a structure. As the name suggests, it’s placed at the corner of the building. It must be large and solid because every other stone rests on top of it, ensuring the structure stays aligned. In several passages in the Bible, Jesus is referred to as the cornerstone. Here’s an example in the book of Isaiah 28:16 (ERV):
“Because of these things, the Lord God says, “I will put a rock—a cornerstone—in the ground in Zion. This will be a very precious stone. Everything will be built on this very important rock. Anyone who trusts in that rock will not be disappointed.” 🌾
ERV stands for the Easy-to-Read Version of the Bible. To clarify and deepen your understanding of a verse, it’s helpful to read multiple translations of it. This version even comes with footnotes:
“very precious stone This also means a stone has been tested and shown that it has no cracks.”
“Anyone … disappointed This is found in the ancient Greek version. The standard Hebrew text has ‘Whoever trusts will not panic.’” 👨🌾
That’s challenging in today’s world, as most value systems have cracks in ’em. Still, it’s far better than having none at all. If the values are solid, you’ll be less anxious because you have a consistent and clear framework for behavior. This is why “anyone who trusts in that rock will not panic.” Jesus was never panicked when it came to provision because he was in a perpetual state of optimisation, always maintaining a clear sense of his identity. His cornerstone was God, his father. Elizabeth Smythe and Andrew Norton, researchers from Auckland University of Technology, noted in a paper that leaders identify and respond to possibilities within a given situation:
“The urge is the beginning of thinking. The ‘what’ of a leader’s thinking is about getting things going, getting them done, maximising opportunities, fulfilling potential. While other people just hang about, a leader moves into thinking. The ‘what’ of a leader’s thinking reveals leadership.” 🧶
Jesus exemplified these qualities in the story of the five loaves of bread and two fishes:
As Jesus crossed Lake Galilee, a large crowd followed him, drawn by the miracles he performed. Testing his disciples, Jesus asked Philip where they could buy enough bread to feed everyone. Philip responded that it would take months’ worth of wages to feed the crowd. Another disciple, Andrew, mentioned that a boy had five loaves of bread and two fishes, though he doubted it would be sufficient. 🧠
Jesus already knew what he was going to do; he just wanted to see how resourceful his disciples were. While Philip was stuck on the impossibilities, Andrew drew their attention to what was available. When we face trying times, it’s tempting to be despondent because it seems like there’s no way out. Thus the saying that depression is the inability to visualise a future. Life’s difficulties will overwhelm you by first making it hard to see the resources you currently have. I believe the remedy for that feeling is to constantly take stock of what you have, including the things that come naturally to you. Sometimes, we underestimate our own advantages because of the misconception that what comes easily to us must also come easily to others. Why always take stock? So you can see that you’re not actually at zero. While the resources you have might seem significantly small in comparison to the scale of your problem, just acknowledging them would spur you to act:
Jesus took the loaves of bread and gave thanks for them. Then he gave them to the people who were waiting to eat. He did the same with the fish. He gave them as much as they wanted. 🎣
Jesus showed gratitude for what was available and then proceeded to feed the crowd with it. At the end of the day, even with limited resources, we will need to take action and hope that things align as we go. Which they eventually do, anyway.
Having a firm idea of who or what your cornerstone is should make you so optimistic that it borders on delusion. Great leaders either have this trait by default or develop it over time. Jesus had to exemplify resource maximisation for Philip and Andrew because simply explaining it to them wouldn’t have driven the point home. Christ unlocked a new way of seeing and acting in the world for them. Now when they go out, they are no longer constrained by their environment. This is exactly what great leaders do. They raise our collective sense of what is possible. When we witness what they’ve been able to achieve, we feel inspired to try it ourselves. A leader is a person of thought and action. To separate these two modes will leave the leader sterile and ineffective. If you act without thought, you shouldn’t be in any position of authority. And if you think without action, you’re no better than someone who can’t think. Both modes of being bring clarity. Sometimes, you need to think deeply to gain clarity on a situation or problem. Other times, you need to take action to arrive at clarity. The wisdom to know when to apply either or both is determined by who or what your cornerstone is. 🚣
Thanks for reading. If there's anything you'd like to chat about, or if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email. I'd love to hear from you. :) 🍿