day no. 14,896: amateur hour and going pro

An amateur is someone who is interested in something, but not enough to pursue it whole-heartedly or put it into practice enough to develop experiential knowledge of having done something. An amateur wants to appear to be doing something without actually doing something about it. An amateur likes something enough to associate with it, but does not love it enough to do act upon it. An amateur will call this "like" by the name of "love," but it is more akin to "lust" which consumes, than "love" which constructs.

amateur (n.)
1784, "one who has a taste for some art, study, or pursuit, but does not practice it," from French amateur "one who loves, lover" (16c., restored from Old French ameour), from Latin amatorem (nominative amator) "lover, friend," agent noun from amatus, past participle of amare "to love." Meaning "one who cultivates and participates (in something) but does not pursue it professionally or with an eye to gain" (as opposed to professional) is from 1786

A professional is someone who puts into practice what they proclaim. They do what they say they want to do. They live their priorities, not just jot them down on post-its. Interest is not enough for the professional. Interest must express itself in action. A professional openly declares their affection and actively pursues it in demonstrable employment. 

profess (v.)
early 14c., "to take a vow" (in a religious order), a back-formation from profession or else from Old French profes, from Medieval Latin professus "avowed," literally "having declared publicly," past participle of Latin profiteri "declare openly, testify voluntarily, acknowledge, make public statement of," from pro- "forth" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward") + fateri (past participle fassus) "acknowledge, confess," akin to fari "to speak," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say." 

Men were made to go pro. They are called to serve, provide, protect and procreate.

In providing, they are called to work hard and pursue a profession that provides enough resources to nourish the man, but also enough leftover to provide nourishment to those around him: wife, children, neighbor, church, community, etc...

In protecting, they are called to be proactive in assuming enmity between their constructive endeavors and the destructive desires of the world, the flesh and the devil. A man cannot be ignorant to this enmity or merely wait and react to the danger when it arrives. The man's plan cannot be:

1. There is no fight.
2. There might come a time when we might have to fight.
3. It’s too soon to fight
4. It’s too late to fight

The mantra of the proactive man ought to be, "the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war." You protect what you love by proactively putting defensive measures into place.

In procreating, they are called to be prolific. (adj.) 1640s, from French prolifique (16c.), from Medieval Latin prolificus, from Latin proles "offspring" + combining form of facere "to make, to do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). Latin proles is contracted from *pro-oles, from PIE *pro-al-, from *pro- "forth" (see pro-) + root *al- (2) "to grow, nourish." Related: Prolifical (c. 1600).

Men must be looking to reproduce and make disciples that make disciples. They must be pouring into other men, raising up future leaders, rearing their own children, and reproducing more men to fruitfully and faithfully fill the earth with God's image for God's glory and the good of their neighbors.