Jack of All Trades, Master of One?

We have all heard it before. How many people do we know who would describe themselves as a jack of all trades, master of none? I admit it, I am a man and I have this inner need to be able to fix anything. It is kind of demoralizing when you have to call in a repairMAN to fix something you can't figure out yourself. It is just a part of being a man, part of the way in which we are wired.

I often find myself taking in a lot of courses, classes, and books in that endless quest of knowledge of how things work. I always figured if I could know how things work, then figuring out how to fix them would certainly follow. My wife would certainly attest to the fact the the house if often cluttered with the remnants of these attempts and for all the effort, I often fall woefully short when it comes time to do the actual repairs.

I think I finally figured out the problem though. I think it is because I keep trying to be a jack of all trades and master of none. You see, you need to me a master of something if you are going to be good at effecting the repairs. Gaining knowledge and understanding that is a mile wide and a couple of inches deep only gives you enough knowledge to describe the problem more accurately to the repairman. It just doesn't give you the knowledge or skill you need to fix the problem. Think of the repairman. Their knowledge is a mile deep and an inch or so wide.

And so it is with my spiritual life as well. I spend an awful lot of time trying to learn everything about every aspect of a Christian life. I am sure others fall in this trap too. My wife so gently reminded me again this morning that God does not want us to be a jack of all trades, master of none. God wants us to be a jack of all trades and a master of one. What is that one trade we should strive to me a master of? Well of course it is loving God by serving Him in the task that we were made for. We were all wonderfully made by God's loving hands for a specific task in His Kingdom. We must strive to discern that calling we were made to fulfill and become a master in that calling so we can love our Master in the way in which we were made to do.