Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, …. — Hebrews 2:17.
The power of this verse lies in the necessity of shared humanity. It suggests that true advocacy and leadership are not born from a distance, but from the crucible of common experience. I often wonder how the landscape of our society might shift if our leaders traded their aloofness for the skin of their constituents. The prevailing “top-down” philosophy—the assumption that one knows what “the people need” without ever having walked in their shoes—is a barrier that only a dramatic shift in perspective, rooted in deep listening and an empathetic heart, can break.
This conviction reminds me of my time selecting judges years ago. My colleagues and I often found ourselves in spirited debates. For them, the gold standard was clinical: intellect, elite credentials, and aligned political views. They saw a resume as a blueprint for success.
I, however, was looking for the architect behind the paper. I wanted to know where they came from. Had they been forced to work their way up from the bottom? Had they tasted the bitterness of suffering or the exhaustion of the grind? I wasn’t just looking for a legal mind; I was looking for a soul that had been tempered by life’s hardships. I believed then, as I do now, that a judge who has never known struggle can never truly weigh the scales of justice for those who have.
Ultimately, leadership is not a status to be attained, but a relationship to be honored. When those in power insulate themselves with titles and theories, they lose the very essence of what it means to serve. If we are to be led well, we must be led by those who understand that “becoming like their brothers and sisters” isn’t a symbolic gesture, but a functional requirement. Only through the lens of shared struggle can a leader transform from a distant authority into a true advocate, proving that the most profound credential one can possess is not a degree, but a compassionate heart that has known the weight of the world it seeks to change.
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