I was thinking about the old cliche, “are you working hard or hardly working?” In my life I believe I have met more people who hardly work than work hard. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know a lot of hard workers. Most of the people I would consider friends, those who I spend time with, are hard workers. However, throughout my many years in the work-force I have encountered and worked alongside many people who treated their job like it was a prison: the boss was the warden, coworkers were inmates, and quitting time was the release date. I have found this to reign true in almost every environment I have worked. But, even though the vast majority of employees did everything they could to do as little as they could, I have also worked with dynamic people—people who really taught me how to work, often by example. These people appeared to have a never-ending source of energy and always did their best. When I was about 17 years old, I once worked with a guy who was in his 70’s and he really knew how to work. One day, in the hot Florida sun, when I was shoveling sand (they don’t have dirt or clay down there), I started feeling sick with heat. This old guy, who just happened to have recently had a triple bypass surgery, was out there too, outworking me. So, I tried to keep up with him and in the end I gave up, and had to sit down in his truck with the A/C on to cool down. He never quit working—not once!

Have you ever met a person who works that hard? Maybe, you are that person. Have you asked yourself why they/you work that hard? We work hard for many reasons and for many things. Some people work to take care of their family. Some of us work for our retirement while others work for stuff. Some people work to escape their situation. Some labor for the Gospel. Some work hard for only a time, just until they get what they want and then they sit back and enjoy their accomplishments. Whatever the reason or the goal, something motivates and drives us forward. As believers, are we motivated? Do you work hard for the glory of God and His Kingdom? Do you work hard to strive for holiness in your life? Or have you relaxed because you have achieved the prize? Paul has something to say about this in Philippians 3:13-14:

“Brothers, I do not consider myself to have laid hold of it. But I do one thing, forgetting the things behind and straining toward the things ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

I believe that Paul’s exhortation to us as believers is to not become comfortable. Do not stop. Keep pressing into Jesus and the glory of His Kingdom. Yes, Christ has saved. But we are not to take that salvation lightly. The moment of salvation is a starting line for the marathon of life, not the finish line. I hope that we as believers are known for our work ethic and that we press on toward goals; but even more than that, that we are known for our pursuit of Christ. I hope that we are a people who long for God’s kingdom to come and for His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. I hope that our fellowship knows how to rest and rejuvenate, but that we also know how to strive for the prize. Brothers and sisters, I pray that as we work hard and strain towards the things ahead of us—that we are not striving for the perishable. I hope and pray that we renew our pursuit of our first love, Jesus Christ.