I have to confess that I was feeling a little bit of hubris. I was being trained on the sound board at my job in order to fill in for the normal sound man should he not be there for our staff meetings. I’d like to mention that I have a degree in Broadcast Communications and was sound/tech person at a previous church for years. I wouldn’t call myself an expert, though. Them new-fangled boards!

Anyway, the sound man was telling me how he ran sound and of course I noticed several things “wrong.” Okay, we’ll say “not industry standard.” He even said that he does not have a degree in running sound, but has just done it since he was 18. I thought to myself, and I admit that this was less than gracious, that I could tell he didn’t have a degree.

Then I was struck with conviction. No, he didn’t have a degree. He was self-taught, but at least he served. I had a bunch of knowledge, but I have kept silent about my ability to run sound so that I could enjoy staff meeting without having a responsibility. (Now I just have to find out who told them so they could rope me into being a back-up!)

It’s like that in the world of Christian service and evangelism. It’s not a bad thing to be doctrinally sound, or schooled in proper cross-cultural missionary techniques, but if you’re sitting in your lofty tower and not evangelizing the goats and discipling the sheep, what good is your knowledge?

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

I Corinthians 13:1-3

Without love, without action, our knowledge is nothing. I may know a lot more than the regular sound guy at staff meeting, but I’m not the one blessing my co-workers by my faithful service every week.

Hubris, meet humble pie.

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.