Articles
Playing "Chop Sticks"
Many people can play "Chop Sticks" on the piano. It is a simple tune played by beginning students and many others whose knowledge of piano is limited to that one piece. Some "Chop Sticks" performers have been playing that single tune for twenty-five years and have never learned another one! If you should ask them why they can't play anything else, they would probably explain that they were never interested enough in piano to tackle anything more difficult. Maybe it was important to them as youngsters just to be able to say they could "play the piano."
This reminds me of some of our own brethren and our knowledge of the Bible. Just about every member of the church knows the plan of salvation. We can usually rattle it off without any effort at all. But when it comes down to answering more difficult questions, do we have any other "numbers" in our repertoire? Too frequently our knowledge of the Bible is limited to the most fundamental doctrines. This is often true whether one is a beginner in the faith or a long-time Christian. You might say they are "Chop Sticks" Christians! But why is this so?
The answer must lie in the fact that many are just not interested enough to get beyond the fundamentals. My wife has been a piano teacher for the better part of 35 years, and I know what she and other teachers tell their students. They tell them that if they wish to play that instrument well, one must (1) have the desire to do so; (2) have a willingness to sacrifice of time and energy; (3) submit to instruction and diligent study for a period of years; and, especially, (4) they must practice, practice, practice, if they are to achieve any proficiency. These same rules apply equally well to the Christian who would be proficient in living a godly life. Learning the fundamentals is good and necessary. Some need to be grounded in even basic truths (Hebrews 5:12). But, one cannot expect to play the piano like Rubenstein or live and preach the gospel like Paul if he never applies himself beyond those fundamentals.
Not everyone who applies himself will become a great virtuoso or a godly Bible scholar. But we can so apply ourselves in the study of the word of God that we can progress beyond the "Chop Sticks" stage. This is what the Bible writers had in mind when they commanded that we "go on unto perfection," and "grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Hebrews 6:1; 2 Peter 3:18).
