THE LAW OF APPRENTICESHIP
1 Samuel 16:14-23
According to Wikipedia, apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Most of their training is done while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their trade or profession in exchange for their continued labour for an agreed period that they have achieved measurable competences. From this definition, we can say apprenticeship is about learning from an elder, more experienced and established person. It is about deliberately surrendering oneself to learn from someone who knows better. It is following someone who knows what you want to know. It is about learning on the job. It is about walking along the way with someone who knows the way.
In today’s world, it is about mentoring. There are people in life that have been to where you want to go. Walk with them. Let them mentor you. Nobody is a sudden or accidental arrival. Everybody learnt from someone else. You can’t be different. It has been said that the difference between Saul and David was that of apprenticeship! Saul was the pioneer king of Israel. There was nobody to learn from. He had no predecessor. Even though Samuel was there, he was just a prophet who knew little or nothing about kingship. After a lot of trials and errors, he was eventually rejected as a king.
David on the other hand had Saul to learn from. Along the way, he was brought into Saul’s court as a musician. Living in the palace, he saw Saul at close range; learnt palace etiquettes; related with the high and mighty; watched how things were done; saw the good as well as the bad side of Saul; saw Saul’s strengths and weaknesses and learnt from them all. He mastered Saul’s strengths and noted his failures. By the time he was enthroned, David had enough experience to do better than Saul.
Beloved, you also need someone to teach you. You can’t be Mr. Know-All. Are you thinking of starting something new? Do not just rush to the starting point. Relax. Do a little research. Do a feasibility study. Look around, there are people who have done it before and made a success of it. Get to them. Let them teach you. Eat the humble pie. Swallow your pride and position. Be teachable and be taught by superior knowledge. When I wanted to start fishery. I got a young man, a student at the University to teach me the rudiments. Knowledge is not about age. Get someone who knows. Let him teach you how it is done. Submit yourself to learning. It will help you and deliver good results.
Please note this: anything that you want to do under the sun has already been done by someone before you. You can learn directly from someone who knows and is doing what you want to do. This doesn’t have to involve a formal arrangement. This could be the fastest way of learning a skill, this type of learning involves service. You have to be humble enough to be ready to receive from them.
Depending on the kind of skill you want to learn through this method, time is definitely of essence. You can’t start learning and become a master immediately, you have to undergo tutelage under the timing of tutor. There are times when the tutor determines that the most basic task is what you’ll have to do repeatedly till you master it. After which you can proceed to the next task. You cannot afford to rush the process, it will only lead to an incomplete training process.
To receive the best from the tutor in an apprentice system, you have to submit to the authority of the master. You learn by observation and by carrying out instructions in proper measures.
REFLECTION: You are not re-inventing the wheel. Learn from those who had done it before.
