Work Right

'But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” '

2 Chronicles 15:7NIV®.

Everyone desires to be successful. We desire to be well known for our abilities, for things we have accomplished.

We earn attention. We long to be popular or respected among our school or college crowd (for the right reasons, though!)

The world defines success in many ways.

It could be defined by the role we play in an organization, where and whom we work for, the paycheck we take home, the house we stay in, the places we travel, the people we know, the school our kids go to and so on.

Success can be ours. But how we gain it, is a point we need to ponder upon.

For a successful result, we all know what should be done.

• We need to set goals. (Goals that are tangible.)
• We need to write down a plan to achieve this goal. The plan must be realistic and achievable.
• After the plan is in place, we need to implement it. Implementation must be consistent.

We tend to do these and start off. But somewhere we begin to lose steam since the climb is very hard.

We begin to lose focus and are irritant when things are getting difficult.

We are now doubtful about what we are doing.

It’s not easy to work towards success in the right manner. There is competition all around us. This opens us up to look for shortcuts or even cheat.

I have read about people saying we need to ‘Work Smart instead of Work Hard’.

I don’t understand what ‘Work Smart’ is. Everyone who is working hard is working smartly. Their approach to getting a job done may be different from ours. So, what! That’s just being plain creative.

So, I feel the word ‘Smart’ here has a definite connotation towards being sly.

The Bible tells us to ‘Work right’ 'Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honour.' Proverbs 21:21 NIV®.

A righteous way brings all these things that we yearn for – life, prosperity and honour.

Walking a righteous life is what Jesus expects us to do. He does not leave us alone to figure things out by ourselves. He knows it’s painfully difficult and time-consuming at times. So, He tells us

' “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”' -Matthew 11:28-30

He clearly asks us to learn from Him. He is the source of all knowledge. Not Google.

Remember, Solomon asked for wisdom from God instead of riches and popularity. He asked for a discerning heart and to distinguish between right and wrong. He asked this so that he could carry out his duties and govern God’s people.

Going gets tough when we desire to do things in the right manner. But please don’t be disheartened. Continue to be strong in mind. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Seek His guidance. He will never say ‘no’. He has a reward for you for walking the righteous way.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™