If a person achieves even a tiny amount of notoriety, they want to use that to build their name and establish themselves as experts before actually putting in the work and gaining the experience. That’s the exact opposite of the path in Scripture. God used Moses only after he spent decades tending sheep in anonymity. David was anointed king of Israel, but went back to work on his father’s farm.
The internet could use more of a lot of things. It could use more hilarious gifs, more cute animal pictures, and absolutely more people being nice. But there’s one thing it could use fewer of—Christians speaking with simultaneous confidence and inexperience.
Everyone has opinions, but few have wisdom.
In ministry, the guy still in seminary or the youth pastor with little responsibilities has the most to say about the right way to lead a church.
In life, no one is more confident about the best way to raise children into adults than the parents of a newborn. No one has more advice to give about making a marriage work than newlyweds.
I’ve been there. I know from personal experience what it’s like to speak confidently from inexperience.
You gained some of the knowledge, but little of the wisdom. Your brilliant opinions haven’t been tested. The overconfidence comes because you haven’t encountered the humbling, difficult moments.
Of course it all works in your head, but what happens those ideas encounter the acid test of reality?
A parent who’s at their wits end with a middle schooler suddenly realizes things aren’t as simple as they believed. A husband or wife who is struggling with loving their spouse in the midst of yet another argument no longer has quick fix answers for all their soon-to-be married friends.
Despite it being falsely attributed to Winston Churchill, there is still wisdom in the saying, “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” But it is impossible to look at the results, if you don’t wait for them to occur.
Giving yourself as much experience as possible before attempting to teach others will benefit both you and those who will potentially learn from you. The beautiful strategy you’ve developed needs results by which it can be tested and improved.
Yes, this is a generality, so let me respond to some potential objections.
This is not about central teachings of the faith or obvious biblical wisdom. You don’t need 30 years of marriage to know you’re not supposed to cheat on your spouse. You can be a brand new parent and still understand you should pray for your child.
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