SAYING 6
“Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.” Prov 22:29
Here is a simple but real fact, if you want to do great things, and influence 'great' people, not only will it take great amount of work but great work. Often people talk of 'overnight' sensations when a musician or sportsman arrives in the public sphere, rarely paying attention to the thousands upon thousands of hours of practice and preparation to ensure that they are able. It takes years of development and practice to become an overnight sensation.
Some Christians live with what is essentially a form of 'divine fatalism', arguably motivated by little more than laziness. People at times say 'If it is God's will it will happen', or sometimes in Pentecostal/Charismatic circles in particular, 'I don't really prepare, I just wait for the Spirit's leading'. Frankly, it bugs me when people blame the Holy Spirit for being lazy or unprepared.
Proverbs 24:30-34 says
“I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgement; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest — and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.”
Many of us have good 'excuses' as to why we can't. We blame our past, our family, even others but at some point we all need to simply take responsibility and authority for our own lives and outcomes. Whilst ever a person shirks responsibility they are handing away authority. If you consistently blame someone or some event for why you apparently can't achieve you are handing that person or event authority over your life. Authority and responsibility are inseparable.
Skill is only developed through constant and consistent development, doing it right and doing it often.