The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)
Additionally, we need to work to meet our needs.
Proverbs 28:19 says:
He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. (Proverbs 28:19)
Ephesians 4:28 says:
He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. (Ephesians 4:28)
Acts 20:34-35 says:
You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:34-35)
The Bible warns against the dangers of laziness because it brings poverty, dishonor, and difficulties in life. God wants to protect us from these dangers, and that’s part of the reason He calls us to work hard. But in following God’s call to work hard, we must not forget our need for rest. God wants us to rest because He knows we need it. We will do our best work for Him and others when we balance diligence and a strong work ethic with the wisdom to know when to take our rest.
Being Diligent As a Believer!
"He did it with all his heart and prospered." (2 Chronicles
31:21)
God does not give harvests to idle men except harvests of thistles, nor is
He pleased to send wealth to those who will not dig in the field to find its
hidden treasure. It is universally confessed that if a man would prosper, he
must be diligent in business. It is the same in religion as it is in other
things. If you would prosper in your work for Jesus, let it be heart work, and
let it be done with all your heart. Put as much force, energy, heartiness, and
earnestness into religion as ever you do into business, for it deserves far
more. The Holy Spirit helps our infirmities, but He does not encourage our
idleness; He loves active believers. Who are the most useful men in the
Christian church? The men who do what they undertake for God with all their
hearts. Who are the most successful? The most talented? No; the most zealous;
the ones whose hearts are on fire! Whole-heartedness shows itself in
perseverance; there may be failure at first, but the earnest worker will say,
"It is the Lord's work, and it must be done; my Lord has bidden me do it,
and in His strength I will accomplish it." Beloved, are you thus
"with all your heart" serving your Master? Remember the earnestness
of Jesus! Think what heart-work was His! He could say, "The zeal of Thine
house hath eaten Me up." When He sweat great drops of blood, it was no
light burden He had to carry upon those blessed shoulders; and when He poured
out His heart, it was no weak effort He was making for the salvation of His
people!
Our Work Versus Our Value
Man was created to have seven basic needs. Each of us has a need for dignity, authority, blessing and provision, security, purpose and meaning, freedom and boundary, intimate love and companionship. It is when we go outside God's provision to meet these needs that we get into trouble.
Every man has a need to work and gain satisfaction in caring and seeing something come from his efforts. Many of our basic needs are derived from our work. It was one of the first acts God did for man in the Garden of Eden. He gave him responsibility to care and work the Garden. God knew man needed to be productive. He needed to gain satisfaction from his work.
The danger of this is when we allow our work to be our complete source of purpose and meaning in life. This leads to a performance-based life. A performance-based life says, "as long as I perform in my work, I am acceptable to myself and others." This is a subtle trap for all of us. It can lead us to become work-a-holics if we are seeking acceptance through what we do. Sometimes this can be on a subconscious basis.
Our value must be centered in Christ, not in what we do. If we lose our job or our business, this should not devastate us if we are centered in Him. It will certainly create difficulties, but God is the orchestrator of all the events in our lives for His purposes. Even this has its purposes.
Today, ask the Lord if you have a proper balance in your work life. Is Christ the central focus? If you work long hours, ask yourself "why"? You might discover that God may not be the central focus.
Good Stewardship
While the Bible says little about financial planning as we know it today, God has shown us the value of using wisdom and prudence in managing our affairs. There are verses that speak to planning ahead, saving, avoiding debt, and other practical matters we will encounter in our personal finances. By wisely managing the blessings God provides (that gap between our income and our spending), we can be good stewards and have even more to give in His name.
Good stewardship starts with understanding that God is the Creator of all things, the Owner of all things, and the Giver of all things.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. (Psalm 24:1-2)
And David says in 1 Chronicles 29:14:
But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. (1 Chronicles 29:14)
What this often boils down to is determining how we can store up treasures in Heaven rather than treasures on Earth. Instead of always focusing on how we can maximize our wealth to meet our desires and dreams, we learn to focus on how we can meet the needs of others.
We learn to follow Paul’s instructions in 1 Timothy 6:17-19:
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. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
(1 Timothy 6:17-19)
Biblical Principles in Network Marketing
As a Pastor, Bill Nissen was against Network Marketing for years. In 2003, a friend helped
him see a new perspective. He still dislikes the ethics of many who do it, but he sees a
biblical perspective that allows him to not only support network marketing, but embrace it as
a way to serve people. Watch This Video. It is longer than most (20 minutes) but carries essential information.
Thank you for this good Biblestudy! Spread Gods Word.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you.