In a 1676 letter by Sir Isaac Newton to Robert Hooke, he wrote, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”. This is a reminder that our successes come from building on the work of others. You are building on what others have done. This doesn’t mean you’re not intelligent or that your creativity and spiritual gifts are not good enough. It is simply the reality of the universe. To have massive success requires a lot of knowledge, effort, and resources. It is wise to start your journey from where others stopped.
The pride of life can lead you towards vain imaginations. You begin to think you are the greatest human being ever to walk the earth. You feel so gifted that you don’t need anybody else for anything. But the Bible does not support such an approach. In the Bible, we learn that nobody does the work of God alone. Every generation learns from the previous generation. From Job 8:7-10, you learn that the key to increase is to learn from the former generation. You are supposed to talk to them (or their books), and find out what they figured out.
If you want to see further and go further, stand on the shoulders of the Giants that walked the earth before you did. You will be building on the work of others. This does not reduce your brilliance. It makes it better. Joshua did not need to fast for 40 days to receive fresh laws for the children of Israel. He simply had to meditate on what Moses had taught him (Joshua 1:8). Ezra studied the books of Moses, practised it, and taught it to his nation. Daniel studied the book of Jeremiah. Your creativity and spiritual gifts require you to stand on the shoulders of the Giants.
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