My Dad was fond of the idiom: Jack-of-all-trades;
master-of-none. The first half of the saying was
originally a compliment to indicate multi-tasking, being able to do a basketful
of different trades (skills). Later,
some cynical troll added the second part, turning a bright compliment into a
dig. The troll was, according to some,
Robert Greene, a late 16th-century writer, who tweaked the
compliment into a snide rebuke of another writer, who had turned from actor to writer
of plays; fellow’s name was William Shakespeare.[1]
Apostle Peter, of the historical first-century, had cast his vote over
1,600 years before, encouraging excellence in whatever you do. And, heading-off the elitist criticism from
the beginning, Peter didn’t care what skill or skills you may employ, he says: whatever you do, don’t do it half-heartedly,
give it all you’ve got.
The sole reason for this is that each Christian disciple of Jesus Christ
is given spiritual gifts to use in building the Kingdom of God, by building
fellow believers. To use any gift of God
in a half-hearted manner is the character of an ingrate, unable, or unwilling
to appreciate the holiness of God’s gifts, a slap in God’s face.
The kingdom of God was never advanced by people with a cavalier attitude, acting
as if serving others was bothersome, or even optional, or required little
personal sacrifice. Serving God in any
way, from the highest to lowest of positions is a holy endeavor, and must
receive our best efforts. As Oswald
Chambers wrote, it must be my utmost for His highest!
For You Today
If you’re a
preacher, singer, teacher, Sunday School worker, custodian, or keeper of the
records…your best efforts belong to God.
He gave you those gifts because He has confidence you’ll use them
well.
A word from the
deep well of Apostle Paul’s wisdom to do nothing half-heartedly:
Work willingly
at whatever you do, as though you were working for the
Lord rather than for people. Colossians
3:23
There
are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library. To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some
of these: Glory and Wise Choices
[1] Images: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
