Thursday, June 14, 2007

Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand(work) before kings; he not stand before obscure men Proverbs 22:29


For more than 20 years, my wife has been involved with helping people move toward achieving their career goals. One of the most critical things in getting, holding or advancing in a job is the skill level of the individual. Skills are something that we acquire through training, practice and continual commitment to upgrading and refining them. However, too many people mistakenly limit their definition of skills to what is known a “hard skills” i.e. technical aptitude, etc. There is another type of skills called “soft skills”. Soft skills refer to our ability to adapt, get along with others, handle customer relations, etc. The skills that qualify us for a position then, really involves honing our God given “knack” for doing certain things and developing the type of personality and interpersonal skills.


It is interesting to note that the soft skills most employers look for are found in the book of Galatians, chapter 5, verses 22,23. Just as no one can expect to become a brain surgeon by simply reading a book, we need to realize that as Christians we have to apply ourselves to honing our vocational skills to fully realize the potential that God has given us. And we also must continually surrender our personality to the influence of the Holy Spirit in order for the “soft skills” known as the fruit of the Spirit can blossom in our lives. We must do our part in order to receive the full benefit from the gifts and talents that we’ve been given. Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand(work) before kings; he not stand before obscure men