Mastery
Master Effort: The term Mastery means: to have a comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment. Or control or superiority over something. Mastery in anything takes time to refine and not something that materializes overnight. It’s an effort of blood, sweat and tears that takes extreme patience and complete dedication. Mastery of a subject can include things as niche as knitting, painting, photography, mountaineering, singing, computer programming, horticulture, welding, writing, cooking, trading, etc…More often than not, these master skills will also provide a lifelong vocation or deep investment of time in a person’s life. The best way to understand mastery is to look at the lives of past masters. And when one investigates the commonality found in these masters of the past, they will find the importance of hard work. The great Italian painter Michelangelo said of his mastery, “If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.” The Call of the Wild author Jack London had this to say about his mastery of writing, “If I see a man with a good brain who simply won’t get down and dig, who won’t master fundamentals, I cannot help but pity him. So it is with your life’s work; say that such is not your temperament, etc.; and in short you are cowardly.” Leonardo da Vinci said, “One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.” Michael Jordan said, “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” The pattern you see forming, is that no master tells the story of how easy it was to achieve their skill. For them, they spent years honing and perfecting their craft in tireless pursuit to become better. The Apostle Paul in writing to Timothy says, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” — 2 Timothy 2:15. Mastery in any subject or skill takes hard work. It’s not easily attained, but to those who dedicate themselves will see good results.
Unique: “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!” — Psalm 139:13–17. Praise God that He has made each of us unique. His mastery is wonderful to behold and there is no comparison. Sometimes people fail to remember that God has made them unique in every way. If you hold the opinion that there is nothing special about you, then you deny the truth of God. No one in history has existed like you. There are skills and talents in the depths of your being that are waiting to come out. Don’t let them be suppressed with wrong thoughts that God doesn’t have a plan for you, but instead, believe in Him and work to harvest your untapped mastery. You are unique and inside of you are the skills of a master.
Masters Path: “If each of us is unique and wonderfully made, then why do so many people feel unfulfilled?” The answer to this question is that there are many opposing forces at work to draw people away from their path. These opposing forces can be social pressures, fear of failure, laziness, conformity, procrastination, lack of faith, etc… In life, if you truly want to master something you must defeat these obstacles that hold you back. It won’t be easy, and you’ll likely face self-doubt and ridicule from others, but if you can overcome them, the results are worth it. Mastery takes hard work and dedication. Your path will be decided by your fortitude to stay the course and willingness to always learn. Don’t let the enemy rob you of your faith in Him. Let your mastery bloom and conquer all obstacles.
Learn: The ability to learn for the sake of learning will take you far. True masters don’t learn the specific skills of their craft so they can boast, they do it out of a passion to become better. Mastery is a steady journey to get better each day. Most masters are never satisfied with their results because they believe there is always something more to learn. Moreover, mastery is not born out of pride, but through humility to learn what one does not know. A deep passion to learn each day is a defining characteristic of mastery. If a person is arrogant and not willing to take instructions, they will fail, but those who humble themselves and learn will see good results. “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.” — Proverbs 1:5
Skill Sets: On the road to mastery a person will be forced to learn new skills. A good example of this is from the author Jack London and his struggles to learn the mechanical typewriter. “On occasion, I composed steadily, day after day, for fifteen hours a day. At times I forgot to eat, or refused to tear myself away from my passionate outpouring in order to eat. And then there was the matter of typewriting. My brother-in-law owned a machine which he used in the daytime. In the night I was free to use it. That machine was a wonder. I could weep now as I recollect my wrestlings with it…How my back used to ache with it! Prior to that experience, my back had been good for every violent strain put upon it in a none too gentle career. But that typewriter proved to me that I had a pipe-stem for a back…I ached as with rheumatism after every bout. The keys of that machine had to be hit so hard that to one outside the house it sounded like distant thunder or someone breaking up the furniture. I had to hit the keys so hard that I strained my first fingers to the elbows, while the ends of my fingers were blisters burst and blistered again. Had it been my machine I’d have operated it with a carpenter’s hammer. The worst of it was that I was actually typing my manuscripts at the same time I was trying to master that machine. It was a feat of physical endurance and a brainstorm combined to type a thousand words, and I was composing thousands of words every day which just had to be typed for the waiting editors.”
This is a good example of having to learn a new skill to assist in the art of mastery. For Jack London it was the necessity to learn how to use a typewriter so he could produce his master prose. Learning new skill sets is another hallmark of mastery. Some skill sets will be fun to learn and while others will be painful, but they are necessary.
Master Above: Mastery is impressive, but what is more impressive is honoring God in all things. You can be the greatest at something, but without the new life found in Him, the road ultimately leads to emptiness and despair. Christ Jesus mastered and conquered death. He is the risen King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Wherever your path might take you, honor God in your work and you will enjoy your days. “Many believe — and I believe — that I have been designated for this work by God. In spite of my old age, I do not want to give it up; I work out of love for God and I put all my hope in Him. ” — Michelangelo
