Last week, I wrote about being prepared and how important it is to be ready for the Lord to use our gifts and talents. This week, we’re going a little deeper into what it means sharper the tools we’ve been given.
Daniel Levitan, musician/producer and neurologist/genius, penned that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master something. God given ability is certainly a blessing, but what we do with those gifts is completely up to us. It has been studied that the 10,000 hour rule applies to everyone from musicians to athletes to writers. The rule of thumb is that you can master something by spending 3 hours a day for a decade, and it is after that time and hard work that we become masters of our craft.
So what does Jesus say about the call of excellence? Quite a lot, actually. In the parable of the bags of gold in Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells the story of a Master giving bags of gold to his servants and expects them the produce return. The Master praised the men who took what they were given and made more profit from the initial gift. The man who buried his gold in fear didn’t produce any fruit and was scorned by the Master.
We must work hard and become excellent at what we do. Worship author Harold Best writes, “There is no theological escape hatch from the call to excellence”. Excellence is not for our own glory, but to give honor and praise to the One who gave the gifts in the first place. Keeping that perspective helps in our progress and keeping our eyes fixed on Christ, not our own ability.
Next week, I’ll list a few of the things I’ve learned along the way in my own journey. I’m definitely NOT a master of my craft yet, but I’m hopefully on the right path.
Have a great week!
