THOROUGHNESS
Thoroughness is knowing what factors will diminish the effectiveness of my work or words if neglected.
Thoroughness in Scripture The Character of God
stones were prepared. Scholars estimate these stones were 12- or 15-feet long and weighed 40-50 tons each! Thoroughness was evident in the transmission of instructions, the method by which the Temple was built, and the intricacy of the wall carvings and coverings of gold during this seven-year project.
• God always finishes His work completely. (See Genesis 2:1–2, John 17:4, Philippians 1:6.) • God cares that even the smallest details of His instructions are carried out. (See Exodus 28:31–33.) • When God forgives, He forgives completely. (See Psalm 51:2; Psalm 103:12.)
3. Build habits of thoroughness. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10). God gives us opportunities to build habits of thoroughness while we are young to prepare us for the great plans He has for our future. When we pay attention to the detailed instructions in our math assignments now, we will be more apt to pay attention to the detailed instructions of our employers in the future. When we are careful to spell and use correct punctuation in our personal journals, we form habits that will make communication more effective when we write for an audience in the future. We don’t know what God has in store for us, but we do know He wants us to be faithful in the little things He has given us to do now.
• Jesus fulfilled the details of every prophecy related to His first advent. (See Luke 24:44.) • Without the Holy Spirit we tend to overlook spiritual factors. (See I Corinthians 2:12–14.) • The Holy Spirit is needed for us to be effective. (See Zechariah 4:6.)
Key Concepts 1. Complete the job. A thorough person gives attention to each part of the instructions, knows what is expected, and completes the job. One detail we do not want to overlook is the final step: clean-up. In the miracle of feeding the 5,000, Jesus instructed His disciples to gather up all the fragments of food after everyone was fed. In doing the clean up, they were also able to see the miracle of what had just occurred. (See John 6:11–13.) Remember, “It’s not complete until it’s neat!”
Thoroughness in My Life
2. Listen carefully and follow the details of instructions. God gave David specific instructions for how to build the Temple to give to his son, Solomon. (See I Chronicles 28:10–19.) I Kings 6:7–38 describes the building process. To avoid the sound of carpenters’ tools at the Temple site, everything was cut and prepared off-site and then brought in. No further alterations could be done on-site so extreme thoroughness, precision, and attention to detail were required as the
• Nehemiah 2:11–15, 17—Nehemiah surveyed the situation before beginning the mammoth task of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. What projects do I need to take the time to think through before beginning? • Matthew 12:36—Will we give account only for the significant things we say, or even for the thoughtless words we speak? • I Corinthians 13:1–3—What one factor determines if my work is effective or not? 1
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• Exodus 39:42–43—Moses and the Israelites completed all—every detail—that the Lord instructed them to do in building the Tabernacle. Are you careful to thoroughly complete the work assigned to you?