Hard work

If there is one thing that really bugs me, it is lazy people. It is probably because I’m the total opposite. I have never shied away from putting my shoulder to the wheel and letting some sweat drip from my brow.  It is sometimes dangerous, because if you’re not careful, work becomes dominant in all areas in your life including your spiritual life.

We grow up with the notion that you have to work for what you want. The harder you work the better you feel about yourself and the bigger the reward. This is dangerous when it is applied to our salvation.

Romans 6:23 states that salvation is a free gift from God and Ephesians 2:8-9 says that we are saved by grace and not by works, but nooo…. We have to prove these scriptures wrong. We WANT to work for our salvation. We feel saved when we have evangelized ten people a week, when we have fed a thousand orphans, when we have given of ourselves till we bled. For me it was even easier when I grew up; say a prayer before you go to bed, sit still in church on Sunday, make sure you get you communion license and voila! You’re saved! It is as easy as that.

Now don’t get me wrong, it is important to evangelize, feed the poor and all that, because Jesus told us to do so, but it will not get us saved. If we have been saved we cannot earn it. We can’t lose it if we don’t do these things, it is a GIFT. We can work and do good deeds until the cows come home, it will not change a smidgen on our salvation.

I have seen so many Christians who are trapped by this lie. They work so hard and are even proud of what they have achieved in Christ’s Name, but it has nothing to do with their salvation. This is so sad. We must work for God to get done that which He called us to do and rest in the assurance that our salvation is a gift already obtained for us by Christ.