Job Opening: Skilled Worker Required!

[This is the second post in a series about how Christian leaders are commanded to be teachers as well. In the first post, we looked at the actual command to be teachers. In this post, we will discuss what it means to be a skilled worker who can correctly handle God’s Word.]

Skilled Worker Required

It has been several years now since we moved into our new Honda building. It was a huge renovation project that took nine months and almost 150 different skilled workers to accomplish. While many would see this as a fairly simple project, I can tell you that it was much more complex than it looked. Without the efforts of those involved, it would never have happened.

Why do I say skilled workers? Sure, there were some intricate jobs like laying the ceramic tile or doing the metal work on certain pieces of custom fixtures. Either of these jobs should qualify as requiring a skilled worker, right? But what about the guys that were sweeping the floors every day. What about the one’s demolishing the walls and old fixtures at the beginning? Are these really “skilled workers”?

Skilled Worker?

In my opinion, they are. If the superintendent had handed me a broom and asked me to be one of the sweepers, I would have required much more information. I would need to know when I was to sweep. Sweeping at the inappropriate time could be dangerous to my health if that was the same time a wall was being torn down.

I would also need to know where to sweep from and where to sweep to. I would need to know what to sweep up and what to leave behind. If sweeping a large area, I would want to know the most efficient way to do it as well, right? All of this information is already known by a skilled worker. He would require no instruction and would correctly handle the job.

Teacher Of God’s Word

The same is true of a teacher of God’s Word. Before we dig into this, let’s look at the Scripture I am drawing from:

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15

We Are To Be Skilled!

We discovered in my last post that we are all commanded (in the Great Commission) to be teachers. While there will be different settings for each of us, HOW we teach should be the same. I don’t mean our methods, but instead I am saying that we are all to be skilled workers when it comes to teaching others about God and His Word.

The first step in becoming a teacher is to get to know the subject matter. If we are going to attempt to pour into others, we must have something to pour, right? This “something” is a working knowledge of God’s Word. In fact, we should have such a strong knowledge that we are “not ashamed” of that knowledge (or the lack of it)!

Easy 3-Step Process?

How do we do this? Is there a silver bullet? Maybe there is an easy 3-step process or a quick six-week program I can zip through? Maybe I can get an app on my phone that will basically do it for me?

NO! NO! NO!

Be Diligent!

I am truly sorry to burst your bubble, but this knowledge is only going to come through consistent reading, studying, and meditating upon God’s Word. In fact, Paul tells Timothy at the beginning of verse 15 above, “Be diligent”. The path to correctly handling and teaching the Word of truth is not an easy one.

It requires a strong commitment of daily immersion in the Word. It comes through applying what you have learned and seeing the challenges that come as a result. It comes through trials and tests in which you have relied upon the Word to survive. It only happens if you are familiar with the Word because it is central to how you live your life.

Yes, you can teach without knowing all of this about the Word. But can you be a skilled worker? Can you present yourself to God in this way without being ashamed? I don’t think so. In fact, I would not want to try!

Ramp It Up!

I encourage you to ramp up your study of the Bible. If you are already doing it on a daily basis and you are applying what you learn as you walk through life, then congratulations. You are likely already teaching it as well.

If you are not already doing this, then I urge you to start (or restart). Dig back into His Word and begin to learn what He has to say to you. Do it in such a way as to be a skilled worker when the opportunity comes to teach someone else! You will not be ashamed then!

Do you already consider yourself a skilled worker with the Bible?

If not, what is your plan to change that?

Who are you going to ask to hold you accountable?

Photo by Lawrence Wee/Shutterstock