WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT?

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As we move along in debunking several life myths we will spend most of our time with what I like to call "mything out on Jesus". There is a general myth that continues to emerge. For the most part, we have moved beyond the "mamby-pamby, meek-and-mild" Jesus that was pictured in the movies for so long. The Jesus in movies today is more rugged, yet he still has eyes that are set in a scary sort of way. You wouldn't leave your child with this Jesus. He is just a little weird and alien-like.

The genuine Jesus I want to introduce to all who will listen is attractive, irresistible and highly relevant in your life-personal, family and professional. Jesus and His teachings applied in your life will help you make sense out of life, make relationships work, make a difference in your world and make positive life changes as you face the struggles of life. This is why the old question of "WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?" or WWJD? really is a most valuable measurement.

Recently, I have come to realize how relevant Jesus is in every dimension of life. Jesus fulfills all religious longings in every culture. Jesus reverses the direction of man's search for God. The good news is that God is searching for you. Jesus dissolves alienation at every level. He has also proven to be highly effective in global peace negotiations.

There is another dimension that we have found to be true and that is that Jesus knows your business best. Most people in the corporate world would never even have the thought that Jesus could have any business relevance to their particular skill or expertise. However, we are demonstrating that this is dead wrong. Now, having worked in the self-help world at the highest level with the best motivators-business, spiritual and psychological experts on making life work most effectively, I know that the principles used by these experts and gurus have come from one source-JESUS.

There is an incident where Jesus came to the shore where several of His disciples were. Let's check out what happened: Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Think about this situation. These businessmen (fishermen) were experts-highly skilled in their chosen profession. Jesus comes along, after they have been fishing all night without any success. He then offers them some professional fishing advice: "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." They took the advice from this non-professional bystander and found His advice to be most successful.

To me, this incident illustrates how effective Jesus can be in your profession, too. It isn't something that requires proof; it requires practice. It requires testing it out. As we debunk the many life myths that revolve around Jesus and His teachings, I am counting on you testing Jesus out in your life.

More than anything else, Jesus brings common sense into the world. This common sense is the result of living life according to the universal principles of life Jesus taught. When you follow these principles, your life makes more sense, relationships work, a significant difference is made in the world and in the midst of crises you will be empowered to make positive life changes to get you through the piles of life. To illustrate this common sense approach to life, I want to share with you one of my favorite stories that speaks for itself to demonstrate viewing life from a higher perspective:

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, only a little while.

The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "but what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then?"

The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions! Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Now, from this story do you get what's most important in life? Stick with Jesus and His teachings and you will see things more clearly and avoid a lot of unnecessary stress and pain. Oh, you'll still experience stress and pain, but you'll be able to tell what's really important!