This is the answer!

"I have personally seen them be a detriment to junior developers who do not yet have the experience to validate their output." This confirms my belief that LLMs are amplifiers. They will do a good job amplifying expertise, or the lack thereof. I totally agree with your perspective.

Very nice write up! I liked your point about persistence. That's an underrated characteristic for individuals in the apprenticeship phase. One of the key things I look for in junior developers that are on my team is for them to be ready and excited for the struggle. I want to see consistently pushing themselves even when it doesn't feel like progress is easy. "Hard work and persistence play a crucial role in this phase. By consistently delivering quality work, apprentices demonstrate reliability and dedication, which builds trust with mentors and teammates."

Great reminder about thinking of His glory in all that we do. Also +1 Kevin DeYoung's book. You might be interested in reading, "Experiencing God" by Blackaby, as he discusses four different aspects to be considered when discerning God's will. You hit on a lot of the same ideas here.

If I want to read more, I need to ask myself the question, "how would a person who reads more behave?" This exercise is one of the most helpful concepts in that book. The more you "pretend" to be something, the closer you become to actually being it.

I think what you are getting it is really the "aha" that the book helped me realize. Video games are a more potent form of entertainment than our brains are meant to handle. It's cheating our brain because it's so optimized for hitting that desire without any of the natural costs that should come with it.