How to be great

Huram is a character who gets mentioned in the Old Testament, but rarely forms the subject of sermons in contemporary churches. Shawn Wood helps to correct that imbalance in his book 200 Pomegranates and an Audience of One: Creating a Life of Meaning and Influence. Huram was a sculptor from Tyre who was employed by King Solomon to work on the Temple, as described in 1 Kings 7.

Huram cast two bronze pillars, and made two bronze capitals to sit on top of the pillars, and he made 200 pomegranates in two rows to decorate the capitals. According to the author, this seems to be a lot of work to go to for something that was so high up that it would hardly ever be seen by people – perhaps Huram should have done his best work at eye level, where it could be admired by everyone? Not if he was saving his best work for an audience of One.

The book is quite short at 123 pages, well written and easy to read. It explains that everyone is an artist, and there are five keys to life-artistry: get great at something, do something with that talent, invest yourself in something that will last and that others will benefit from, work for an audience of one because sometimes our best work is only seen by God, and finish what you start. That is sound advice, and a couple of hours spent reading the book is time well spent.