1 Timothy 4:15 “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.”
This advice from Paul to Timothy was about doing the basics of a pastor/teacher diligently. God called Timothy to study and teach. His vocation, like all others, had distractions, difficulties and discouragement connected to it.
Principle: Do what God has called you to diligently, consistently and to the best of your ability.
Randy Alcorn in his novel Safely Home tells of a Chinese scholar named Li Quan. Li Quan was a Harvard summa cum laude, serving as a locksmith’s assistant. But in China, an outspoken Christian cannot be a university professor and great writer, which was his dream. His American businessman friend comforted him with this quotation by Martin Luther King.
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lives a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
This is “the Joseph principle” from the book of Genesis. Joseph was diligent in whatever God called him to do. For better or for worse. He obeyed God.
His career path had upsides and downsides. He went from the pit to prison to the palace doing God’s will. God was honored when Joseph worked with diligence in every position.
Are you stalled in a position which under-employs you? Do what you are called to do with excellence. Are you called to do something which is beneath your ability? Do it with diligence and whole-heartedness. Are you positioned well but weary, tired and bored with what you are expected to do? View your work as God’s calling and if nobody notices it, do it well for the audience of One.
Timothy’s church audience may not have had a clue how much he studied before he preached, but God knew and was honored by it.
Discussion:
1. What are the differences between diligence and perfectionism?
2. What is boring, repetitious, or disagreeable about your work?
3. What would be a first step in applying diligence to it?
