Be about it

This may seem as a continuation of the last post but it is not intended to be. I have just had hard work and working hard on my mind lately. It may be because of all the projects we have had going that keeps this on the forefront, but there is just something about working  hard and earning it.

Don't judge me when I tell this story. Many years ago, when I was much younger and had a nephew that was then about 10 or 11, this nephew and I were playing video games, which have never really interested me very much but I have been known to play a few. Anyway, we were playing games that my nephew was very familiar with and very good at and he was beating me pretty soundly every time. Eventually, though, I noticed a football game and asked if we could try that. My nephew said something to the effect of, "Oh yeah, I'm good at that."

Well, we played football and I began to get the controls down and I began to win. The better I got and the more he couldn't stop me, the angrier he got. Finally, he blurted out, "My Dad lets me win!" To which I replied, "And, that is your problem. You know how to win but you've got to learn how to lose. I don't let anyone win. If you want to beat me, you have to earn it."

Today's word is Proverbs 14:23, NIV, which reads, "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."

There's just something about earning it. There is nothing sweeter than setting a goal, putting in the work, and accomplishing that goal. During the course of obtaining that goal, the profits are innumerable: effort, experience, perseverance, determination, etc. There is a lot of good things that come from hard work, and they are all profitable.

The flip side, of course, is talking it but not walking it. I think we have this problem in our spiritual lives from time to time as well. We want to talk it when everything is going good but we often lose that talk when it begins to not be as good, when it is time to work. GOD is on our side. He has everything in control. Everything is working for our good. Let's not just talk about it; let's be about it.

Be Blessed,
Mickey T