Interestingly, the word “professional” comes from the Latin word “profere”. This means to make a promise (through proffesing).
In Ancient Rome, as people began to accumulate more experience and skill towards a specific trade, he will make an announcement to the public of his specialized trade. This is his profession… making him a professional.
Well, what does it mean in today’s day and age? We have seen it used in marketing slogans. We use it as a description of anything. We even use it to describe ourselves.
The sad thing is we often are disappointed by so-called “professionals”. We are disappointed because they are not committing to what they said they would. We are disappointed because they lied to us.
But, we can change. We can change because we can restore professionalism in professionals by making going back to its root meaning: a promise. We can change if we commit ourselves to become what a professional should be.
The beauty of being a professional is that it isn’t limited to a degree or an achievement. Whatever trade you have, you can be a professional. And why aspire to be a professional?
You owe it to yourself. You owe yourself at least one thing — a craft, a task, a commitment — of which you can attribute to yourself.
You owe it to others. You owe others for your God-given gift is meant to be shared, enjoyed, and be a source of inspiration.
You owe it to your God. You owe it to Him for the talent you have — whether it be a skill, an insight, character, grit, whatever it may be — as one of the unlocked capabilities of a redeemed creator.
And so, the world needs you. We need you to own your profession. We need you to go to the world and proclaim that “this is what I do, and this is how I can contribute“.
