My identity is attached primarily to two ‘hats’ I wear: being Christian and being an Engineer.

I’ve spent all of my adult life searching for truth in Christianity and most of my adult life as a student of Engineering. I feel that I was called to do both.

As a teen, I suffered some severe depressed periods where I questioned what life was all about. Answers seemed elusive, but as my relationship with God developed, I was no longer depressed. I’ve always needed to stay close to God to keep me on course and happy.

I literally DREAMED of being an engineer when I was young. My life started in the USAF, where I excelled early on, but when I was about 20, I realized that a career in the military was not for me. I wanted more so I started to take college classes while working on base. One semester, I took a full load of classes – 12 credit hours – while working. It was the most driven time in my life.

In my adult life as a Christian/Engineer, I noticed parallels between my advancement in both areas. My journey as an Engineer has shed light on my progression as a Christian. Being an Engineer for 4 decades demonstrated how a progression in a field of study in the real world works.

My life, hence, is a testimony of how the progressions compare.

Training Above and Beyond

Half of the curriculum to get my BS in Mechanical Engineering had little to do with anything ‘mechanical’ or engineering. I’d estimate that half of what could be considered engineering had little to do with my later career as a Design Engineer.

I could have performed my early Design Engineer jobs with about 18 months of training instead of the 5 years I spent. Didn’t need Psych 101/201, Music Appreciation, Sociology, Introduction to Islam. In fact, one semester of Calculus instead of 4 would have sufficed. I could have skipped the two semesters of College Chemistry (that’s if you had a year of Chemistry in High School).

But all those courses, even though I feel I had little use for them, made me a better engineer. They rounded me out as a person, which made me a better human and hence a better engineer. One particular English Course that focused on helping one find their style in writing was particularly helpful.

In retrospect, ALL the different hats I’ve worn over the years have made me a better engineer. Being a Taekwondo Black Belt made me a better teacher. Owning a business taught me the importance of cost accounting and ROI. Being a Contractor taught me the importance of design vs. practicality. Mechanic work taught perseverance.

Being a Christian had a big impact on my career as an engineer – and vice versa. The two actually go hand in hand with my personality with both driving my continuous improvement efforts. Some of my biggest ethical struggles were with engineering issues.

My training as a Christian started out similarly with formal Bible study and reading. Much of the Bible has little application for a person today. Many of the bits of wisdom within it are not truly understood until one matures. Christian. I have read the Bible cover to cover and it was like skimming a real good book where you retain nothing. The Bible is meant to be studied – not read. The truths need to be applied, not just known.

Just like Engineering school, much of the Bible is not directly applicable to ones life. Still, knowing it makes you a better person and Christian.

Schooling is not sole qualification

Engineering school does not make one an engineer, just as reading and understanding the Bible doesn’t make you a follower of Christ. Education is passive.

The only way to become an engineer is to work as one. In New York State, the only way you can qualify to be a Professional Engineer is to have a degree in Engineering AND to do a few years of engineering work.

AND THEN, once you’re bona fide, you have 1) continuing education requirements, 2) to work as an engineer, and 3) to conduct yourself properly according to Engineering Ethics. Do something bad, and you’ll be thrown out of the club.

It’s similar for Christians. You can never stop learning and you must actively work as a Christian to BE a Christian.

“Actively work as a Christian… Hmmm. How about I go to Sunday Sermon and sing hymns and read the Bible a few hours per week? That should be good, right?”

As an engineer, that would be the equivalent of me listening to a random engineering webinar and then breaking out a Chemistry textbook a couple times per week.

Beneficial? Maybe. Probably. But what will certainly make me a better engineer is doing in depth, engineering work. Doing a truss analysis by hand or writing a program for load calculations of framing.

And the same goes for following Christ. You have to live it. You have to Exercise Your Faith to be on a solid footing as a Christian. (See below.)

High in Virtue

I truly believe that to be a solid Design Engineer – or a decent anything for that matter – you have to be a decent human being. To be ‘good’ at something means first you must be good.

Sir John Templeton spells out the ‘Laws of Life’ in his Templeton Plan. These laws are immutable and required for success in any pursuit and happiness.

If you look at this list through the lens of being a good engineer, you can see why it is so important. Some of the ‘laws’ are required to be a good team player (truthfulness, reliability, faithfulness in others, pleasing others, humility). Some are required for better learning (learning from others, humility). Some are linked to performance (reliability, perseverance, enthusiasm, energy).

To be a Good Christian you also have to work toward being a decent human being. This is Biblically supported. Yes, there are many examples of people BECOMING good human beings after they found God, but there are also many examples of those ‘falling from grace’ as they descended from common decency. Apostle Paul is an example of the former. King David an example of the latter.

Work your way through the ranks

Some of the best Christians, according to the Bible, are those that are “purified by fire”. These individuals have been through life challenges that have resulted in a spiritual awakening to truth. But this isn’t only Biblical. The brilliant Psychotherapist Frederich Neisch spoke of this nearly a century ago when he coined the phrase “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.

An engineer ‘purified by fire’ is one that worked their way up through the ranks. One of the best engineers I worked with never had formal engineering education. He started as a shop laborer and was promoted to Lab Tech. He later was promoted Lab Supervisor and then Project Engineer. As he was promoted, he went to college to fill in education requirements.

To think that having a good understanding of the Bible is all that is required to be a ‘Good Christian’ is the equivalent of a degreed engineer going into Sales and then claiming to be a good engineer.

No, you’re a Salesman. Nothing wrong with being a Salesman, but don’t claim to be an engineer.

There are plenty of people with a better knowledge of the Bible than me that don’t believe Christ even existed. Knowing and reading the Bible is more of a fascination for them than a search for truth.

It’s worth noting that there were few people that knew the Bible better than the religious leaders of Christ’s day – and they were mostly corrupt.

Exercising Christian Faith

The Bible is big and thick, but the ‘rules’ for being a ‘Good Christian’ are simple. (Not easy, but simple.)

Love Your God. (First Commandment).

People get caught up with love being a feeling. Love is action.

The best engineers love what they do. Some of the most remarkable things I have done have been as an engineer. My work as a Design Engineer was very rewarding as I watched product after product go from calculations, to drawings, to working creation.

Being Christian is all about giving your best, every day, to glorify God. As Apostle Paul told the Colossians, “Work as if you’re working for God”.

The action part of loving your work is doing good work. The action part of loving God is doing good work, and giving God the credit.

You can’t be a good engineer without knowledge and you can’t profess being a good Christian without knowing God and Christ.

The Bible is not the only source for knowing God, but is an excellent source for spiritual truths. Studying God’s creation with a spiritual mindset gives us knowledge on who He is and how He works. A Methodist preacher recommended a book – The Emotional Brain – a few months ago and I can’t get enough of learning how the brain works. Fascinating!

And to think there are no truths to be found in other religions is also narrow-minded. God created everything and truth is everywhere. The Bible is “beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). As much as religion tries to make the Bible Sole Source for wisdom, it is not.

Gratitude is another manifestation of love. Only a grateful person can be a loving one.

Love Your Neighbor. (Second Commandment).

You can’t be an effective engineer unless you can work well as a team. Love and respect makes for a good team – whether in marriage or family or work.

As aforementioned, love is action. Don’t worry that you don’t have affectionate feelings for your workmates or neighbors. Working for them and with them is love manifested.

One of my biggest beefs with religion is that within the social circle of certain religions, people show great love for one another but outwardly, not so much. This plays into the next exercise of faith…

Let Your Light Shine.(Matthew 5:16)

As my friend Charlie Joe used to say, “Light has no sound.” It passes no judgement. Simply BE the wonderful person God meant you to be. Do things for others with no expectation of reciprocity.

Knowing your purpose and place allows you to present your best. Self-confidence and humility make one comfortable in their own skin. This brings out the best in you and makes you invaluable as a team member. One of the best attributes of the manufacturing team I worked for was mutual respect. This allowed us all to grow in our respective areas.

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Integrating my faith into who I am has been a journey. I have learned from others how to do it effectively. There are those that put on entirely different personas for their families, their churches and their work buddies. I learned early on not to change who I appear to be for acceptance. I only want to be me.

And that’s an engineer dedicated to God.

Ron