Context Is Everything

I have grown up hearing people say jokingly that they are a jack of all trades but master of none. I always assumed that the phrase meant that it wasn’t a good thing to not be master of anything. I assumed the real truth would have been the one who is successful will have mastered his trade perfectly. Then I ran across an article that attributed the original phrase to William Shakespeare, and the meaning is not at all what I had understood all my life. Let me give you the original quote - “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one.” It actually is not speaking negatively of the jack of all trades but is fairly complimentary. One who is well grounded knows the basics of a lot of skills can often times be more useful than the one who knows just one trade. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes being really good at one thing can be invaluable. For instance, an accountant should have fully mastered his trade. I remember growing up learning how to cook, how to change a flat tire, how to garden, how to do wood projects, how to fix plumbing, how to help in the kitchen, do basic electrical work, etc. Now, with YouTube, people can look up tutorials on how to do things, but we grew up learning a little of everything. The point isn’t what we should be teaching or whether or not a jack of one trade is sufficient. The real issue is how we can think we understand something correctly when we haven’t read the rest of the story. When it comes to God’s word, I hear people say that we shouldn’t judge others and that God accepted everyone. However, we find a crowd brings a woman caught in adultery and they ask Jesus what they should do because God’s word says that one caught in adultery should be stoned to death. Jesus' response is, “Whoever is without sin, throw the first stone.” Jesus was not withholding judgement but rather was casting some of that judgement on the crowd as well. After all, he tells the woman to go and sin no more. On a similar vein, the argument is made that since God is love, we should love and accept everyone. Was God defending the foreigner when he told his people to completely destroy Jericho or destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah? Don’t pick and choose! Father, help us to learn all of Your word so that we don’t dishonor You. Amen