Do Your Own Work

Growing up my dad never hired anyone (that I can remember) to do anything. I remember he had a 1964 step side Chevrolet pickup truck with a manual transmission that was acting up. Dad went to the local library and borrowed a Chilton’s manual and fixed that transmission.

He taught me and my two brothers how to work on cars. When I went to college I worked construction jobs and learned carpentry. When the kids were young and money was tight I fixed everything I could on my own.

Even now when money is in better supply I find myself still fixing things. One of my weak points now-a-days is to just hire someone to fix things. 4-5 times our pool equipment has needed to be repaired so I call the pool guy and he will say I’ll be there in a week or two. I say… never mind and fix it myself. I’m a little impatient too.

I’ve had some projects that seem a little overwhelming and will call for a price quote which usually seems too high and then decide just to do it myself.

I’ve had a lot of friends that were old men (most of them are dead now) that I’ve learned a lot from. One of those was RD Cave. RD and some of the other old guys used to eat breakfast together and then meet at the church building to do maintenance. RD Cave at 80 some odd years old… I’ve never seen anyone work so slow or get so much done. He just kept at it. He’s my hero.

Here’s what I really wanted to talk about… Bible study and Bible knowledge. Most people want to learn their Bible like RIGHT NOW. One of my favorite things to ask is… “Do you know how long it takes to get a year’s experience?” When they shrug their shoulders quizzically I reply “12 months… there are no shortcuts”.

I look back at when they made me an Elder at Parkway and my Bible knowledge was pretty good back then but not near as good as it is now. The best way for me to learn Bible has been to participate as a student in Bible classes and to regularly teach in Bible classes. Another way has been to write a blog and come up with a Bible article every week.

I read out of a chronologic Bible every morning and mark it up pretty good with notes and such. If I have an idea for an article I write the page number down in the back of that Bible… there’s not much room left on those pages.

Some people try to take short cuts to improve their Bible knowledge like spending their time listening to preachers and reading up in commentaries. That’s OK… I do that too, but don’t use that as a crutch or substitute for real, down home, earnest Bible study.

Dad taught us to work on our own and not rely too much on others and I miss him every day. Do your own work… you’ll be prouder and better for it and I’m not just talking about auto repair or carpentry.