I’m back! And ready to tackle another Good Character trait. If you’re following this series very closely and actually refer back to the original post, you’ll notice I’m skipping Teachable. This is not because it’s not HIGHLY important. It’s because i’ve blogged on the meaning and vitality of being teachable several times already. This is my best post on it though. Check it out.
After teachable comes Thorough. I love this word and its meaning. I am continually learning how to be thorough and why I shouldn’t try to get away with doing things partially. It’s hard. Because sometimes - no – often we DO get away with it. (But not forever - see Romans 2:16)
By being a leader of several different ministries, I’ve learned that I would rather have two people helping out who are thorough than ten people who aren’t thorough. A person that does a job all the way rather than picking and choosing parts of the job they’ll actually do is indispensible. Why? They get so much more done. And I don’t have to be concerned about letting them do it.
Why should we be thorough with the jobs and responsibilities we’re given? Because if we’re not thorough, we’ll eventually get stuck…
Hard work? Isn’t that kind of an outdated term? Who says hard work these days?
I do. In fact, I love thinking in terms of “hard work,” “that person is a hard worker,” “if I work hard, it’ll get done…”
In fact, I think we need a 40 days of hard work devotional even more than some of those other subjects being studied. I love to call ministry and personal growth what it is – hard work.
Unfortunately, our understanding of spiritual growth doesn’t usually include that pretty significant piece called working hard. We talk about “being better at” praying regularly and “prioritizing” scripture memorization and “working on” self-discipline. Soft, fluffy, uncommitted phrases fill our vocabulary. It’s no wonder most of us are soft, fluffy and uncommitted Christians.
My personal confession is that the weighty, heavy term hard work only recently dawned on me as being completely vital. In observing/reading about a few of my spiritual heroes, (Jim & Elisabeth Elliot, Amy Carmichael, Corrie Ten Boom, John Piper…) I realized their legendary ministry legacies, incredible knowledge of the Bible and spectacular inner peace were all gained through everyday toil. Serious, hardcore toil.
Humility is the third chapter of my Good Character series. I don’t think i’m capable of doing a very good job at covering this loaded part of godly character, so if you’re into researching humility (and I highly encourage you do) I have a book to recommend. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning is astounding to read and has been the most eye-opening reference to Christ’s humility and Christian humility that I’ve ever heard. Anyway, moving on…
