10.2 - Harnessing Intention: Jesus and Psychology
Introduction: Diving into the Depths of Intention
Just like jumping into the pool’s deep end, I will get over my head in a hurry in this session - but it's worth it. I can't think of two more powerful lessons to learn and transmit to future generations than the one in the last session and the one in the session.
Recap: The Power of Intention in Leadership
To refresh the last session, we looked at the power of intention, how intentions speak louder than words, and determine whether we are good leaders or bad leaders. In this session, we’ll watch Jesus explain how our intentions lead to their own set of actions. These actions, in turn, become habits and form our character, making it crucial that we learn to harness our intentions.
“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
Understanding the Reticular Activating System (RAS) and Its Impact on Intention
Before we jump back into the story, let me share some research into a pencil-sized part of our brain called the reticular activating system (RAS). According to the Australian group Contemporary Psychology, “The RAS is a guard point between your senses and what comes through to your awareness. It makes decisions on what stimuli make it through and get processed. Our brain is not always processing every piece of sensory information! This is a survival mechanism because at any given point in time, only some of the information our brain is receiving is relevant.” Thanks to our RAS, we immediately snap to attention when somebody across the room mentions our name. Or, if we're thinking about buying a red car, we suddenly begin to see more red cars on the road. It acts as a gatekeeper between the conscious mind and most sensory systems.
How Intentions Shape Our Future: Scientific and Philosophical Insights
Some psychologists say setting intentions can train the RAS to accomplish those intentions by drawing our attention to those things that will help. Yogis believe we can train the RAS by joining our subconscious thoughts with our conscious thoughts. Sports psychologists train athletes to transform intentions (winning a race) into visualizations that improve performance.
In metaphysics, intentions are the starting block of “the law of attraction,” which states that people can manifest their desires by aligning their intentions, thoughts, and emotions with the energy of what they want to attract.
High-performance coach Brendon Burchard recommends setting intentions throughout the day at each transition into a new activity. He suggests pausing between tasks and taking a few deep breaths to release tension. Then, he says, “Set a clear intention for your next activity, open your eyes, and get to work with a vibrant focus.”
We are hardwired so that our intentions help us create our future. Stated simply, good intentions lead to good actions and a good future. Likewise, bad intentions can lead to a bad future. Even worse, no intentions are “a roll of the dice.”
The Character Chain: How Attention and Intention Build Character
A few years ago, I created a diagram called "The Character Chain: How Our Thoughts Become Who We Are,” which illustrates how attention influences our thoughts, ideas, and feelings. These mental processes are then filtered through our consciousness or operating system, where we decide whether or not to act on them. Repeating this process forms our habits and, over time, shapes our character. If I were doing this today, I would add the word Intention in the Attention box.
A side note to my grandchildren and their children: Where you invest your attention matters much more than you know. It is the first building block of your future. As your attention is today, so shall you be tomorrow.
Biblical Wisdom: Jesus' Teaching on Intentions and Actions
Let's revisit our story of the shepherd and the sheep and see how Jesus connects the dots between good intentions and good actions.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
In this passage, Jesus vividly differentiates between a true teacher and a teacher for hire. Many of Jesus’ listeners had likely witnessed a wolf attacking and killing sheep in real life. This story causes them to hear the bleating and see the bleeding all over again, and it will not soon be forgotten.
Maybe they knew of a shepherd injured or killed while protecting his flock. Additionally, they may have seen other rabbis who opposed the temple establishment give in to pressure from religious authorities, leaving their followers vulnerable to attack. The point is that this story wasn't just a fictional tale to Jesus' audience - it was a real-life example that deeply resonated with them. They could easily and quickly tell you which shepherd they wanted.
The Good Shepherd vs. the Hired Hand: A Lesson in Leadership and Intentions
The good shepherd is so focused on the welfare of his sheep that he is willing to risk his life to protect them. Not so the hired hand, who is focused on his life. The good shepherd risks while the hired hand runs. These actions are a direct result of their earlier intentions. Practice saying this in your silence, "My intentions become my actions.”
Jesus does not call him a "bad shepherd" but a "hired hand." Why? He wants his metaphor to be personal for his immediate audience, the hired hands of the people’s religion. If the good shepherd is not "hired," he must be in the owner's family, perhaps a son. This makes sense because Jesus considers himself a son of the creator, who created the sheep in the story and his followers in real life. This mindset dictated everything he said and did, so people were following him, not the religious leaders, and he wanted them to understand why.
Is he pointing fingers and saying, “I am good; you are bad?" I don't think so. His ultimate goal, his heart, was for them to understand and become good shepherds, too.
Jesus' Example of Sacrifice: What It Means to Lay Down One’s Life
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.
He is willing to risk his life for his people and has done so several times. At significant personal risk, he taught in the synagogue, turned over the moneychangers’ tables, and healed on the Sabbath. His people knew that. These leaders had seen that. It’s as if he is saying, “This is what makes me different. This is why they are following me.” His point: If you want your people to follow you, put their interests ahead of yours. Lay down your interests and pick up theirs.
Also, Jesus is not implying here that if a wolf appears, he will lay down his life to be eaten so the sheep can get a head start. That wouldn’t make sense. What guarantee is there that the wolf will not attack the sheep after killing the shepherd? No, a good shepherd risks his life by attacking the wolf until it dies or runs away. Therefore, I believe this is not about martyrdom but our intentions regarding caring for those in our tender responsibility.
Expanding the Flock: Jesus’ Inclusive Vision of Leadership
As Jesus continues his parable, remember that he is just outside the temple in Jerusalem. It's a safe bet to say that his crowd is exclusively Jewish - some followers, some leaders, but all Jewish.
16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is a foreshadowing, a foretelling of the future of his followers. They will include Romans, Canaanites, Samaritans, and others. There may be name tags, but there will be no labels. Jesus’ invitation is all-inclusive.
Let’s continue.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”
Granted, this sounds a lot like resurrection talk, and if you want to understand it that way and it's meaningful to you, please do. But for now, let’s keep that interpretation in our back pocket. A close and slow reading of the story provides another possible explanation that aligns better with the complete context of chapters 9 and 10.
We must dive deeper into the wordplay to see that “life," as translated here, comes from the word for soul, not the physical body, so this is not about laying down his body. The soul is the part of us that houses our reasoning, our emotions, and our desires. One could lay down these and then take up those of another. Elsewhere, Jesus tells his disciples that they must "lose their life to find it,” and he did not mean their physical bodies. He put this concept into a prayer when he said, "Not my will, but thine.” This gives me an image of a soldier swearing allegiance to the king, bowing down, laying down his sword, and picking up a new one to do the king's will. “Thy will be done,” he says.
Practical Application: Intentions as the Foundation of a Purposeful Life
Jesus had experience laying down his life, his will, and his desires and taking up those of his creator. Let’s use some imagination here. Maybe he could've been a successful carpenter in the bustling city of Capernaum with a happy wife and a happy life. He laid that down to become a teacher. Maybe he could've established a school in that same growing city and developed a following of those who came to hear him. He laid that down to become an impoverished, nomadic teacher. He could have had wealth and fame, but he chose to take this "on earth, as it is in heaven" idea seriously and live it daily.
By following his internal code, his Father’s voice, he experienced love like a father's for his son. Jesus' words, "Know my own, and my own know me, just as the father knows me, and I know the father,” brilliantly captures the connection that exists when we operate by the code within us. John called this life "The Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us." Jesus asked his disciples, then and now, to continue "making the word become flesh” by putting his teachings into action.
Like him, I can choose to live by my wits and chase my desires or “lay them down” and listen for that still small voice within and live by it. Only the latter creates a resonance between my life and the original intelligence that created the universe. Compliance is always voluntary; it all starts with my intentions.
19 Again the Jews were divided because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?” 21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
The man born blind? Isn’t this where we came in?
A concluding thought to my grandchildren and their children: Jesus spent time in silence, listening for the timeless word and putting it into action in his daily life. He chose not to start a new religion but to model a new way of living. It wasn't about a new organization but following him and his way of living. He dared to believe that there was an infinite intelligence that put the universe in motion and that man could become one with that intelligence. That caused trouble then; It causes trouble today.
Key Takeaways:
Both science and faith teach that our intentions shape our actions and determine the course of our lives.
Our brain’s Reticular Activating System (RAS) is crucial in helping us focus on what matters most. It influences how we act based on our conscious and subconscious intentions.
Jesus’ teaching on the good shepherd shows how intentions influence leadership, contrasting the self-sacrifice of a good leader with the self-interest of a hired hand.
Intention and Attention Shape Character: Attention fuels thoughts and intentions, which when acted upon consistently, shape habits, character, and destiny.
True leaders, like Jesus, are willing to risk personal gain for the well-being of others, guided by a deep internal code of intention.
