{"id":2075,"date":"2020-05-04T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/?p=2075"},"modified":"2020-04-23T06:33:07","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T11:33:07","slug":"what-do-you-gain-from-hard-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2020\/05\/04\/what-do-you-gain-from-hard-work\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT DO YOU GAIN FROM HARD WORK?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cAll hard work brings a profit,\u00a0 but mere talk leads only to poverty.\u201d (Proverbs 14:23 NIV)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hard work brings profit.  But few people want to put in the hard work.  Staples sells an \u201cEasy Button<\/a>\u201d for $8.87.  The fact they are able to make a profit from a button such as this, tells you people like to take the easy way out.  Staples is doing the hard work of marketing to a world who is looking for easy; they are making the profit.  But life isn\u2019t easy,  No where in scripture will you find the promise of an easy life.  You will find plenty of scriptures that require hard work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,\u201d (<\/em>Colossians 3:23<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.\u201d (<\/em>Ephesians 4:28 NIV<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.\u201d (<\/em>Proverbs 12:11 NIV<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hard work brings profit, there\u2019s no easy way.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was young, my family mowed the grass in the cemetery for our church.  My Dad would drive the riding lawn mower.  My brother and I would use the push mower to go in between the tombstones.  My Mom and older brother would trim with weed eaters.  This is how I learned hard work, with my family.  I was paid $20 for an entire afternoon\u2019s worth of work, and I was ecstatic.  Not only did I feel rich, but I felt pride in the work we had done together as a family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t remember not having chores.  Saturday mornings were cleaning days.  I had to dust and clean before I could go out and play.  Every night my job was to set the table, and then do the dishes afterwards.  My first paying job after the cemetery was cleaning for a neighbor, Dale Duncan.  I would spend hours with her helping her with whatever chore she had for me that day.  I can\u2019t remember not working in my life.  Hard work was instilled in me from an early age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hard work is not something to be feared, but rather embraced.  When we set about a task, work at it with all of our heart for the Lord, we will be profitable.   We will find satisfaction in the work we have done.  We won\u2019t waste our time, we\u2019ll maximize it.  We will feel God\u2019s pleasure as we set about the task He has given us to do.  Whether mowing a lawn, dusting a cabinet or washing dirty dishes, all of them can be done joyfully for the Lord.  Hard work leads to profit, but mere talk ends in poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question of the Day:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is God asking you to work hard at today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Reading:<\/strong> <\/strong>Judges 19:1-20:48 NIV<\/a>, John 3:22-4:3 NIV<\/a>, Psalm 104:24-35 NIV<\/a>, Proverbs 14:22-23 NIV<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAll hard work brings a profit,\u00a0 but mere talk leads only to poverty.\u201d (Proverbs 14:23 NIV) Hard work brings profit.  But few people want to put in the hard work.  Staples sells an \u201cEasy Button\u201d for $8.87.  The fact they are able to make a profit from a button such as this, tells you people… Continue reading WHAT DO YOU GAIN FROM HARD WORK?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2075"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2076,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075\/revisions\/2076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}