Bible MBAናሙና

Walk in Borrowed Shoes 

For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning. Hebrews 4:15 AMPC

At the core of great product development is empathy. It is said that only he that wears the shoe knows where it pinches. Being able to create solutions that meet real needs depends significantly on the ability to enter into the situation and vicariously experience the problem your business is created to solve. 

The Lord shows us a great example of 'walking in borrowed shoes' when He “stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being” (Philippians 2:7 AMPC). It is by walking in human shoes that God (manifested in Jesus) became a high priest Who could empathize with our human frailties. 

To be able to empathize, Scripture instructs, “Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: ...” (Philippians 2:5 AMPC) In reality, it is impossible to receive guidance from the Lord to create anything that serves anyone other than ourselves if we do not humble ourselves and walk in the shoes of others. 

That meekness of heart that allows us to recognize and prioritize the needs of others is what opens us up to inspiration to be able to serve them. The lack of empathy, however, closes the mind and makes it nigh impossible for God's creative ideas to get through to us. 

It is this closed-mindedness that made the Pharisees focus on the poor optics of people coming to be healed by the Lord on the Sabbath rather than share in the joy of changed lives. Similarly, when we focus on the poor optics, we often miss out on many opportunities for creating products for large populations of under-served communities, which are often viewed as irritants and a nuisance. 

Make a deliberate effort to walk in borrowed shoes today, empathize.