"Many feel that they are fitted for a work that they know scarcely anything about; and if they start to labor in a self-important manner, they will fail to receive that knowledge which they must obtain in the school of Christ. These will be doomed to struggle with many difficulties, for which they are wholly unprepared. They will ever lack experience and wisdom until they learn their great inefficiency. GW 78.1"
"For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?"
The EGW quote discusses people feeling fitted for work they know little about and failing to receive necessary knowledge, leading to difficulties. This thematically parallels Luke 14:28, which advises counting the cost before building a tower to ensure sufficient resources. Both passages highlight the importance of preparation and assessing one's capabilities before undertaking a task.
"Very much has been lost to the cause by the defective labors of men who possess ability, but who have not had proper training. They have engaged in a work which they knew not how to manage, and as the result have accomplished but little. They have not done a tithe of what they could have done had they received the right discipline at the start. They seized upon a few ideas, managed to get a runway of a few discourses, and here their progress ended. They felt competent to be teachers, when they had scarcely mastered their a b c in the knowledge of the truth. They have been stumbling along ever since, not doing justice to themselves or to the work. They do not seem to have sufficient interest to arouse their dormant energies, or to tax their powers to become efficient workers. They have not taken pains to form thorough and well-devised plans, and their work shows deficiency in every part. GW 78.2"
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
The EGW passage directly addresses the need for proper training and diligence in ministry, echoing the sentiment of 2 Timothy 2:15 about being an approved workman who rightly divides the word of truth. The passage amplifies the idea of striving for competence and avoiding being ashamed in one's work for God.