God wants you to work hard

Go to the ant, O sluggard;

consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief,
    officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread in summer
    and gathers her food in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

Proverbs 6:6-11

“Whoever is slothful will not roast his game,

but the diligent man will get precious wealth.”

Proverbs 12:27

“Whoever is slack in his work

 is a brother to him who destroys”

Proverbs 18:9

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,

But everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”

Proverbs 21:5

A reminder for you from Proverbs: diligence is important. If you’re not the kind of person who simply keeps working at a thing, even when it’s hard, you’ll never succeed.

In my Bible read-through for the year I’m currently 2/3 of the way through Proverbs, and a recurring theme that’s jumping out more to me this year than it has in any of my past read-throughs is this theme of diligence and just how importance hard work is. 

The wisdom literature of the Bible is clear – if you’re not diligent and excellent in your work, you won’t succeed. This idea isn’t limited just to the wisdom literature of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. At the outset of creation God gives Adam work to do, with the expectation that it would be done diligently. It’s explicit in the New Testament epistles as well, with the Apostle Paul writing,  “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,” in Colossians 3:23 and consistently setting the example of being diligent in both work and ministry, reminding the Corinthians “We work hard with our own hands.”(1 Cor. 4:12).

God wants you to work hard. Whether it’s your 9-5 (or 3-Midnight) job, where you serve your church or your city, or even in caring for your own home or apartment, you are called to be diligent and prioritize labor over leisure.

It’s Wednesday morning. For many of us that means we’re just about half way through our work week. How will you commit to work hard for the rest of your week, honoring God in your diligence?