“
Don’t wear
yourself out
trying to get rich;
be smart enough
to stop...
”
Proverbs 23:4 (CEB)
that looks like heaven and today’s
typical ‘Christian’ loves it. What does
this heaven look like? Lots of money,
fame and influence. (If you didn’t know
better you would think this was what
Jesus died on a cross to give us.) They
say, through self determination and hard
work they achieved it and so can you.
The spirit of Paul’s message is different
however, “For we do not preach ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves
your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.” 2
Corinthians 4:5
What you will not hear said or
emphasised in this seductive ‘pseudo
gospel’ is faith in Jesus. All focus is
removed from Him. The Biblical message
points to Jesus as the only redemption
for fallen man but the ‘work hard’
religion says, we are the only ones that
can redeem ourselves. They say we need
to dream, work hard, remain positive
and never give up and this will gain us
a place among the greats. Those from
this group who are actually heads of
Churches and not just celebrities, will
often quote passages from Scriptures to
suite this rhetoric. This aids the seductive
and deceptive nature of their message,
a message that clearly puts man in the
place of power and Jesus nowhere.
Conclusion
The ‘positive’ and ‘work hard’ philosophy
is a lie that glorifies the rich and
embarrasses the poor. One would never
find statistics that could prove beyond
doubt that if you dream, work hard,
remain positive and never give up you
will succeed or achieve your dreams. Of
much greater numbers are the people
whom this philosophy failed. You do not
hear about them because their stories
are not ‘positive’ and those who have
the money and fame to hold the media
by its ears will not speak of them. These
people who strived all their lives yet
ended up with shattered dreams are
considered failures and are scorned even
within Christian circles. Are those who
offer these lofty speeches ignorant of
the fact that many of the poorest people
in this world today are those who do
the toughest jobs under the most brutal
and harshest of conditions? Wouldn’t
these rich preachers and celebrities with
money and influence better serve their
community by lobbying and pushing to
get better working and living conditions
for the millions of abused, disadvantaged
poor labourers around the world?
Disclaimer
Did the great men of Scriptures work
hard? They surely did. Do those who
preach the true gospel today work
hard? They surely do but their work
is not... self motivated or merely to
achieve their own dreams or goals.
The heroes of our faith laboured as
they were instructed by God and with
the energy of the Spirit of God. They
worked in God’s field, building God’s
Kingdom for the glory of God and the
salvation of souls. God made them
great and therefore they could not
boast but in the cross of Christ. They
could not take credit for anything they
had or did. Read Colossians 1:29 p
July - September 2017
By Homer Slack
author, preacher, Bible
teacher, IT tutor, program-
mer & graphic designer
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