The Glorious Grind
Man on a Mission, Session 1
Sometimes, you feel stuck.
Like a bike with its chain off the gears. You don’t fix it by staring at it. You put the chain back on partway and turn the pedals. The motion pulls it into place. That’s how it works. Small moves lead to big changes.
Let’s consider this glorious grind by looking at 1 Timothy 4:14-16:
14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
There are four principles I want to call your attention to that are either explicitly stated or tacitly assumed in the passage:
If you neglect it, it withers.
If you practice, it grows.
If you track it, you know what is happening.
All movement, whether withering or growing, is incremental and compounds.
While pointing out general principles, understanding the particular context is important.
Paul tells Timothy: Don’t neglect your gift. That gift? Ordination. The elders laid hands on him, setting him apart for ministry. Like an Old Testament sacrifice, a man called to preach must meet strict qualifications before he’s commissioned. The laying on of hands isn’t just ceremony—it’s transfer. Authority. Duty.
Gifts and responsibility go hand in hand. Timothy had the ability to teach, but ordination made it his charge. The same is true for all of us. Your natural skills aren’t just talents—they’re tools. Given by God. Expected to be used.
Some are born to build, others to speak. Some lead, some follow. But all have gifts, and those gifts come with obligations. Steward them. Develop them. Grow into them.
Responsibility isn’t a burden—it’s a blessing. It presses you, shapes you, makes you more. Marriage made me a better listener. Fatherhood taught me self-control. Pastoring sharpened my judgment. Sales honed my strategy.
Manhood is taking responsibility. Step up. Use your gifts or lose them.
Principle 1: If you neglect it, it withers.
Paul told Timothy: Don’t neglect your gift. Use it. Grow it.
Neglect means carelessness. Disregard. Timothy didn’t need a new calling—he needed to develop the one he had. He was already a pastor. His job was to sharpen his gifts and do the work.
Same goes for you. What has God already given you? Are you using it, or wasting it? People envy what others have while ignoring their own. Stop that. Take a moment. Write down the gifts and responsibilities you’ve neglected.
Matthew Henry said, “The gifts of God will wither if they be neglected.” He was right. Gifts don’t grow on their own. Use them, or lose them.
Principle 2: If you practice, it grows.
Paul says, Practice these things. Immerse yourself in them. Let all see your progress.
Neglecting your gifts is one thing. But using them? That takes effort. Focus. You don’t just flee neglect—you pursue growth. Deliberate, disciplined work. Progress doesn’t happen by accident.
Paul lays it out: Command. Teach. Set an example. Read Scripture. Exhort. Train yourself in godliness. Timothy wasn’t supposed to dabble in these things. He had to dive in. Deep. Full immersion.
Learning a language takes immersion. You don’t just memorize words—you think in them. You eat, speak, and live them. That’s how I studied Chinese. And it worked. The same applies to any skill. If you want to grow, you have to throw yourself into the work.
I write every morning. I read about writing. I take feedback. I’ve done it for years. And I’ve gotten better. Not because I hoped to. Because I worked at it. Writing is a gift, but practice makes it sharp.
Paul says, Immerse yourself, so your progress is clear. No shortcuts. No drifting. What about you? What should you be practicing? What should you be immersed in? The answer is simple: whatever God has given you.
Principle 3: If you track it, you know what is happening.
Paul says, Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.
Practice and immersion sharpen your gifts. But watching yourself? That keeps you from drifting. It’s not enough to talk a good game—you have to live it. The work has to shape you.
For a pastor, this is everything. He must know the Word and teach it rightly. But knowledge alone isn’t enough. Calvin put it plainly: Good teaching without a godly life won’t do much good. And a good life without solid teaching won’t either. Both matter.
Timothy had to track himself. Keep himself honest. Make sure his preaching wasn’t just words but reality in his own life. That’s true for all of us. Self-assessment shows where we’re slipping.
People waste more money than they think. Eat more than they realize. It’s not until they track spending or count calories that they see the truth. The same goes for time, habits, and gifts.
It’s easy to slide back. To neglect what God has given you. Watch yourself. Track your time, your money, your focus. What should you start measuring today?
Principle 4: All movement, whether withering or growing, is incremental and compounds.
Paul says, Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
The theme is clear: consistency. Practice isn’t a one-time thing. Self-assessment isn’t a one-time check. You keep going. You grind.
To persist is to press forward, step by step, day after day. It’s how you build anything worth having—faith, knowledge, skill, strength. You don’t just start. You endure.
The grind shapes you. Study, savings, discipline, training—they only pay off if you stick with them. And that’s hard. But it’s the only way to grow.
Little wastes add up. Small compromises, bad habits—they bleed you dry over time. Coffee and breakfast out might cost you $50 a week, $200 a month. Do that for years, and you’ve thrown away thousands. But reinvest even half? That changes everything.
For example, investing $1,000 annually in an S&P 500 index fund over ten years, with reinvested dividends, could have grown a $10,000 total investment to around $35,000.
You can slowly waste all your gifts through compromise or through small acts of faithfulness done day after day to grow into a mature, godly man. Which will be?
Give yourself to the grind. Its results are glorious.