There’s great value in mastering various technical skills of life and manhood. But much of these are pointless without also a solid foundation of knowledge – knowing who we are and the purpose God has given us. A basic understanding of God’s design for us, and the larger story he is telling, allows us not to be merely busy doing many things, but rather to be fruitful and effective in making an impact for good.
Perhaps this is easiest to understand in the realm of communication. While a couple might work hard to polish their communication skills, much of this is still meaningless if they don’t also have something meaningful to say to each other. Skills certainly help in their efforts to connect, but skills are also not enough.
With the Apostle Paul, all our skills become worthless without being grounded in a larger reality, regardless of how much we’ve mastered them.
Of course, this is not to discount the various methods used to accomplish the work given to us. We must have some means to make things happen. But all too often we hyper-focus on developing skills without a meaningful substance to support it.
For instance, we focus on developing career competence, financial security, relational techniques, fitness skills, and the like, which are all good and helpful things to have. But we remain directionless and unfruitful without a deep knowledge of who we are and the purpose God has called us to. It’s like building a house on a foundation of sand. The skills are needed, but a solid foundation needs to be in place first.
In the end, skills are important. But more than skills we need a solid foundation of understanding – knowing who we are, our place in God’s story, and a clear sense of the work he’s called us to do. This allows us to be truly effective in his kingdom and not merely busy.
Photo by Leandra Rieger on Unsplash
