Hard Work vs. Obedience

Making Changes, No. 1

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory." - 1 Corinthians 10:31

I have heard many times from people recently, "God will bless you if you work hard", a statement that might not seem as syncretic as it actually is. It is a widely accepted American principal and value that if you work hard you will be successful. This is something that we are taught both directly and indirectly from early childhood. In most American theology, this principal advocated for by people citing verses such as Colossians 3:23-24. This is a great example of syncretism! It is through this mash up of ideals that we justify the pursuit of cultural success and wealth. For some, how hard they witness a person work becomes the measure of that person's character, success, and ultimately responsibility in life. This is a gross misinterpretation of scripture as well as a major distraction and excuse that keeps people wasting their time, and their focus.

Syncretism: the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought.

The root of the reason that these ideals do not actually go hand in hand is that God's definition of "success" is different that the success that is valued in our culture. Not only is His definition different, but He is begging and pleading with us to change our definition of success to match His so we can leave this sort of thinking behind. When Jesus called His disciples to work, He called them away from their nets to work hard. When Paul encourages us to work hard as if we were working for God and not men, what he is doing is encouraging us to worship and to choose wisely what we spend our lives pursuing.

What God is actually trying to communicate through these verses is that He wants us to genuinely work with all our hearts to worship Him, even if it means casting aside our nets to follow Him. Sometimes obeying God means working really hard, and when it does you should gladly and worshipfully obey Him in the work He is calling you to do. Other times obeying God means dropping your nets (whether that be you job, your security, even walking out on your own company or business) to follow His plan. Our cultural perspective of success is not just wrong to God, it is meaningless. Our hard work alone means nothing to God unless it is what He has asked you to do.

"You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart." - Psalm 51:16-17

For some this can be a really difficult truth to accept. There are some people who want to serve God who have spent their entire lives being directed by their culture rather than their King, and it is not always easy to self examine when it comes to topics such as this. It sounds extreme, but we should be spending every day making every decision to figure out how we can directly bring glory to God - even if that means changing what we do for work, where we live, the things we spend our time doing, and even our entire worldview! The good thing is that it is never too late to start listening to God's direction, and it is never too late to drop your net no matter how long it's been, or how tangled in it you are.

Is there something in your life that you know might not be sinful in nature, but it is not what God is asking of you? Do you know that at some point in your life God asked you to do something that seemed big and you ignored it because it did not seem practical or something that would amount to your success? Take these things to the King this week. Trust that what He has is better and drop your nets. It is not your hard work that is glorifying, it is your worship.

"My effort is not what produces His fruit. Just yield." - K.M.