I recently was working on a Do-It-Yourself project at the house. One specific task I thought of doing was to make a couple of wooden brackets for a shelf. They were to be simple triangles, but had to be cut in a specific way to make the best use of the wood that was available. The existing “good edge” of the wood had to face outward. I did not want it to be touched by the blade of a saw. And its measurement was to be the basis for the length of the other sides of the triangle. I had to be sure about the measurement of that edge, so that the brackets would be a perfect fit.
As I sat down to compute the specifications, I had a rude awakening. I could not remember the mathematical formula for the task! There I was, a person with an engineering degree, stumped by a simple math problem. And so, I did what so many folks do today. I went to the Internet. And I found not just the formula, but also an app that allowed me to fill in some info and did the calculating for me.
I do appreciate such tools that are readily available these days. They help to make things easier. One just needs to know how to access what’s there. Yet my experience got me to thinking about what I was supposed to have learned, and what I had done with it. It appears that the extended non-use of that particular skill had resulted in my losing it.
One may argue that there are things (such as calculating the sides of a triangle) that shouldn’t be a big deal in “normal” life. But I just wonder whether there are important things in life that could somehow be set aside along the way, victimized by our lack of diligence or just plain laziness.
God has entrusted his people with important things such as spiritual truths (like the Gospel), life principles (biblical teachings), skills and competencies (spiritual gifts). What have we done with them? At the end of his parable of the “talents” Jesus issues this warning: “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away” (Matthew 25.29 NLT). For me, my experience (of forgetting a mathematical knowledge and skill that I had) serves as a reminder of this divine warning. Surely, the Lord expects his followers to be faithful stewards, making proper use of the precious gifts he has entrusted to us.
(Concerning the DIY brackets I was supposed to make: I just decided to buy a couple of ready-made decorative brackets at Home Depot. They look much better than what I would have made anyway.)
—Keith Y. Jainga