By Jamere King

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Proverbs 14:23

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game- winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

The quote above is probably one of my favorites that summarizes the value of hard work. Growing up, most people loved and adored Michael Jordan, and as the saying goes “wanted to be like Mike”. However, MJ’s quote informs us that great things don’t happen by accident. Jordan is admitting he didn’t become Air Jordan simply by mistake. He’s telling us that he put in the work, failed, learned from his mistakes, and over time the work paid off.

God has called all of us to work hard in all that we do. However, here’s the difference for Christ-followers: Not for our own glory, but for His alone (1 Corinthians 10:31). This not only benefits us, but it also benefits those directly around us. Yes, sometimes things may fail, and yes, sometimes things may take longer than expected, but regardless we will always (not sometimes) profit from hard work because profiting isn’t always directly tied to material things. For Michael Jordan, his hard work led him to becoming the greatest basketball player ever. However, let’s just be honest, that’s not always the case. But, even if we don’t land the promotion, God may be building your resiliency for something later. Even when we work hard and occasionally fail as parents, God is profiting and molding your character—which in turn benefits our children in the long run. Laziness in the kingdom of God is like watching a clock tick backwards, it just doesn’t make any sense!

If we look at Jesus, at His very death, it seemed like all His hard work of obedience to the Father had failed. His family left Him, His friends abandoned Him, and His haters mocked Him. However, three days after His death, He was not only raised from the dead into glory, but His faithfulness changed the course of history for everyone bearing the image of God.

All of us have something going on in our lives that feels like a setback, a failure, a trial, or something difficult to overcome. Here’s my encouragement to you: Keep. Working. Hard. Keep your foot on the gas and keep pressing forward while fixing your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). This doesn’t mean to suppress your feelings, it means to lean deeper into God in the midst of your feelings—eventually you will see fruit! You may not receive public praise and you may not become the next Michael Jordan, but you never know what God is doing in and through your hard work which could exponentially impact those around you for generations to come.

Colossians 3:23 — Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.