I love doing things around the house. As an avid Do-It-Yourselfer, I don’t mind tackling many of the jobs that might otherwise be done by paid professionals. That’s not to say I do every job by myself. While I’m fully capable of building small pieces of furniture, doing simple plumbing work, changing electrical outlets, lights and switches, and fixing a variety of small appliances, my biggest talent as a Do-It-Yourselfer is knowing when to I am out of my league.
I am pretty adamant about what I will and will not do around the house. Some projects are unpleasant and unless it’s way too expensive, I’m willing to lay out some cash in order to have someone else do them. A new ceiling fan in our bathroom would have demanded that I fold myself into the wee, cramped confines of our attic. That’s something I hate doing, so we hired an electrician to tackle the job. Some projects are too dangerous. Once again, it’s pro time. Other jobs require expensive equipment and special skills. You guessed it: pay someone with the skills to do the job right the first time.
Thanks to fairly decent training, a lot of personal experience and a healthy fear of wasting time and money I have rarely, if ever, taken on a job I couldn’t finish. At the same time I have never, ever thrown away money hiring someone for a task I couldn’t do myself happily and with relative ease. As I said before, knowing when to say no (and on the other side of the coin, knowing when to go ahead) is one of me talents as an amateur handyman.
Knowing one’s limits is important in all aspects of life. We can’t do everything that’s possible for human beings to do. Some things are too dangerous and some are too expensive. In this case, however I’m not talking about physical danger or financial costs. Some of the things we do are too dangerous and too costly as far as our souls are concerned. God set clear limits on what we can and can’t do with our lives. Going beyond those limits can end up costing us our relationship with God, and that is a dangerous and costly mistake.
The danger of exceeding our limits comes in being totally abandoned by our creator. When we go against God’s rules it is an act of alienation and rejection. Following God’s rules, on the other hand, keeps us close to God and allows for a healthy and holy relationship. Going beyond our limits is expensive too, because it means that we not only waste time and energy on things that don’t help, but it can cost us our very souls.
Thankfully, knowing what we can and can’t do or where the limit are isn’t too hard. God provides clear guidelines in the Bible and an excellent example in Jesus. Furthermore, unlike many of the handyman tasks we might try, doing the right thing is pretty easy and requires little talent, skill or training. All you have to do is say ‘Yes’ to God’s ways and no to anything else.
I am pretty adamant about what I will and will not do around the house. Some projects are unpleasant and unless it’s way too expensive, I’m willing to lay out some cash in order to have someone else do them. A new ceiling fan in our bathroom would have demanded that I fold myself into the wee, cramped confines of our attic. That’s something I hate doing, so we hired an electrician to tackle the job. Some projects are too dangerous. Once again, it’s pro time. Other jobs require expensive equipment and special skills. You guessed it: pay someone with the skills to do the job right the first time.
Thanks to fairly decent training, a lot of personal experience and a healthy fear of wasting time and money I have rarely, if ever, taken on a job I couldn’t finish. At the same time I have never, ever thrown away money hiring someone for a task I couldn’t do myself happily and with relative ease. As I said before, knowing when to say no (and on the other side of the coin, knowing when to go ahead) is one of me talents as an amateur handyman.
Knowing one’s limits is important in all aspects of life. We can’t do everything that’s possible for human beings to do. Some things are too dangerous and some are too expensive. In this case, however I’m not talking about physical danger or financial costs. Some of the things we do are too dangerous and too costly as far as our souls are concerned. God set clear limits on what we can and can’t do with our lives. Going beyond those limits can end up costing us our relationship with God, and that is a dangerous and costly mistake.
The danger of exceeding our limits comes in being totally abandoned by our creator. When we go against God’s rules it is an act of alienation and rejection. Following God’s rules, on the other hand, keeps us close to God and allows for a healthy and holy relationship. Going beyond our limits is expensive too, because it means that we not only waste time and energy on things that don’t help, but it can cost us our very souls.
Thankfully, knowing what we can and can’t do or where the limit are isn’t too hard. God provides clear guidelines in the Bible and an excellent example in Jesus. Furthermore, unlike many of the handyman tasks we might try, doing the right thing is pretty easy and requires little talent, skill or training. All you have to do is say ‘Yes’ to God’s ways and no to anything else.
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