Does The Bible Teach I Should Work Hard If The Job Stinks?

Should we work hard only when it suites us? If we have a dream job should we work hard then, but if the job really stinks should we only do enough to get by?

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23- 24.

WHATEVER
It makes no difference according to the Bible if you job is nice or nasty; it is the same. Whatever means everything, in all cases, or regardless of circumstances.

ALL YOUR HEART
If you have a good job or a bad one you should give it all you got, not just enough to get by. If you call God your God and Jesus your Savor you should be the top worker no matter how bad the job is.

WORKING FOR THE LORD
God is in charge of all things so he is in control of your bad job as well as the good things in your life. It is an affront to his providence to say, "This job is bad so I will cut corners and do as little as possible." He gave the job not the person who held the interview. He has a purpose.

Our attitude should be not that we are working for mere pay that perishes with the use of it but that we are doing something the King of the universe has honored us by asking us to do it.

INHERITANCE
A paycheck is something we earn; it is predictable and often too small. God does not give paychecks he gives an inheritance. His reward for those things done in his name and unto him is far better than any earnings a job can give us.

Whatever our job is we should see it as something we are doing for God, and do it in a way that is worthy of God.

Does The Bible Say Money Will Give What You Desire?

Our desire for money may be the tip of the iceberg of something else; and it is not really wealth we want but there is something, a need, or a fear that we think wealth will satisfy.

Why would someone want wealth? A partial list might be...

• We may think wealth will free us from worries. 
• We may think money will give security.
• We may wish we had what others have. 
• We may worry about providing the basic necessities of life.
• We may think money will make us attractive to a future spouse.
• We may think money will solve our debt problem.
• We may think money will give us a desirable life style.

So, the desire for wealth is motivated by these other desires; and these underlining causes are our true heart desire. What if we found a way of satisfying those desires? We would be free, and not spend all of our time and energy chasing money, we might enjoy life.

The Bible talks about our inner motivations, and gives a promise that answers our inner desires.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desire of your heart."Psalm 37:4. NIV.

DELIGHT
To delight is to find your happiness in something. This phrase, "Delight yourself," is an instruction or command, it suggests we must make it a point, a discipline, or a practice of choosing to delight ourselves in God.

We each must find how to delight ourselves in the Lord. Here are some ideas to start with.

• Read the Bible daily.
• Pray daily.
• Practice worship, (attend worship services at a community of faith). 
• Practice service to God and others.
• Meditate on the good things God does and is.

HEART
When we delight ourselves in God we will experience a change of heart. Some of those things that seemed so big and looming shrink in comparison to God. Our hearts mature beyond the smaller things and goals in life. We find a faith in God that becomes a better solution than chasing money and throwing it at problems.

GIVE
God who is all-powerful, all-good, who owns the "cattle on a thousand hills,"* has "hidden treasures stored in secret places.* and is so generous that he has already given his son to pay for our sins, (John 3:16), He promises to give you your heart's desire, and we can be confident in him.

The Bible promises that the way we may have our desires fulfilled is to delight ourselves in God.

* Psalm 50:10: *Isaiah 45:3

(c) Adron 2015

What Does The Bible Say About Greed

Is greed a harmless human behavior? Is it an acceptable motivation for getting ahead in life?

"But I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, or an idolater or slanderer, or drunkard, or swindler. Do not even eat with such people." 1 Corinthians 5:11. NIV.

CHOOSE RELATIONSHIPS CAREFULLY
The Apostle Paul writes the young church to encourage them to live pure and holy lives as is worthy of Christ. In doing so he admonishes the members of the church to avoid certain people. These people were those who claimed to be believers in the faith but lived lives that said otherwise.

A NASTY LIST
The list of those the faithful were to avoid was the things that would corrupt and undermine the church. The list included...

• Idolatry which makes obvious sense. 
• The sexually immoral would be completely against the moral teaching of the church. 
• We all know how bad slander is in a community. 
• And drunkards are generally bad news.
• A greedy person.
• The swindler, this is the thief.

SO GREED...
Strange that the list of people we should avoid is shared by greed and swindler. This puts greed on the same level as adultery, drunkenness, or thievery. It should warn us if we are prone to greed that we are engaging in an attitude the Bible puts on the same level as idolatry.

DISTANCE
The closing words of the verse, "do not even eat with such people." may refer to the act of communion or the intimacy of the community. To not associate with someone is not to be rude to them but to not get involved in a business or close friendship with such person.

Nor should we be such a person.

Does The Bible Have Commands For Wealthy People?

Does the Bible have anything to say to the rich?  Does it give negative commands to give all our money away or does it say something else?

The Apostle Paul wrote:
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain,  but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." 1 Timothy 6:17, NIV.

AN OBSERVATION
The phrase, "Rich in this present world," suggests that wealth is limited to the time and space of this present world. Wealth seems to be a phenomenon of this life and is not a concern in heaven.

ARROGANT
An arrogant person may think they are better than others. The wealthy are not to think they are more privileged than those who are not. The Bible consistently admonishes us to be humble, not seeing ourselves as better than others.

HOPE
We are not to put our hope in wealth. Do not think that money assures pleasure, comfort, love, peace, freedom from want or deliverance from need. Money is no guarantee of any of these things.

UNCERTAIN
Money is uncertain. The markets may crash, there may be a run on the bank or there may be economic collapse. The treasure hidden may be stolen or the value deflates.

PUT THEIR HOPE IN GOD
Do not hope in riches but in the giver of riches- in God. The things we fear are under his control. Poverty, need and security are things He is able to take care. We need to put a dynamic active hope in Him. We hope by choosing to hope in Him and not choosing to hope in temporary wealth.

GOD RICHLY PROVIDES
The wealth of Our Heavenly Father is capable of providing what we need. He can provide abundantly more than enough if we just hope in him. The Lord is not stingy, he provides and we may enjoy what he provides.

SUMMERY
The Scriptures does not condemn wealth: it says to not trust in wealth but trust in The Lord.

(c) Adron 2013

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 Adron