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Does Hard Work Reveal Misplaced Faith?

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Many people will tell you that if you are truly blessed, you won’t have to work hard to obtain wealth. They claim that God will just pour out wealth and material possessions on you as a reward for believing this very fact! They sometimes go as far as to accuse those who work hard of having misplaced faith!

Well, is this what God thinks about working hard? Does he view His children working hard as having faith in their jobs rather than in Him?

Let’s look at a few verses of scripture for the answer:

God commands the one who used to provide for himself by stealing to now labor and work hard – He even refers to this as “what is good”.

He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good… ~Ephesians 4:28

It is clear from the following passage that hard work (for those who are able) is the primary means that God uses to provide for His children.

For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. ~ 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11

God gives us the ability to work and earn a living, and also provides wisdom in order to wisely use the money and possessions that He gives us!

God expects every able-bodied man to work and provide for his family, and He also makes special provision for those who are unable to care for themselves (cf 1 Timothy 5:3-16). Note especially verse 8, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever“.

Hard work honors God, while chasing get-rich-quick schemes and other worthless ventures never leads to wealth:

He who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty. A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished. ~ Proverbs 28:19:20

God promises to bless those who faithfully work hard (“till [their] land”), while those who are lazy will only reap poverty!

Consider the fact that God provided six days for us to work, and only one day in which to rest and honor Him:

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work… ~ Exodus 20:9-10a

Now, you won’t see me volunteering to work an extra day for my employer! However, I believe that this verse allows us to see God’s design when it comes to work.

Is there really a danger of misplacing your faith?

Yes. It is possible to place your trust in the size of your bank account or other worldly attributes, instead of God.

Many husbands/fathers will be absent from the home in order to work 80-100 hours/week in order to provide for their families.

This is not God’s long-term will. If you plan to work this hard temporarily to accomplish some godly goal (such as paying off debt), AND you take the necessary precautions, then pray and seek God’s will for your family.

How do we avoid misplacing our faith?

The key to finding a balance is to understand that it is God who ultimately provides for us, and to follow the command of 1 Corinthians 10:31 – “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

photo credit: jacashgone

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  2. Excellent points. I believe that God would want all Christians to apply themselves to the fullest. I always follow this advice. Have faith and depend on God for all things. Work hard as if everything depended on you.

  3. I avoid misplacing my faith by focusing on God knowing that anything that I have accomplished will still accomplished in life comes from him. Any skills or resources I have have been provided to me by God

    Keeping a thankful heart and knowing that God is the one that provides for me and my family, and acknowledging this in prayer, helps me to avoid misplacing my faith.

  4. Khaleef,
    While I haven’t been close to those who accuse industrious Christians of faith lapse, I realize it happens. But, as you point out, this accusation only reveals lack of depth in the accuser.

    I appreciate how you close: by challenging us to keep a balance. 1 Corinthians 10:31 is a great standard.

  5. I enjoyed this article because it speaks to both types of believers. You have the hardworking who lack reliance on God (faith) and the lazy ones who think everyone is just going to fall into their lap. I identify with the latter. No matter how much pressure you put on me i do the bare minimum and believe somehow that God will be honored in that. I had never read that 2 thess 3:10 verse that way untill i saw this article. To see that hard work not only pays off, but it honors God as well was a blessing to me.

    • It’s true that either extreme will dishonor the Lord. I guess this is true with many truths in God’s word.

      It’s good to see that you plan to be more diligent, but you also see the dangers of working too much and neglecting your other responsibilities!

  6. Khaleef,
    I have a comment regarding this post. Some people work hard because they believe that is the right thing to do (integrity) and that’s how they are wired. In other words, they bring 110% to everything they’re involved in. Surely, that doesn’t reveal misplaced faith. I guess I feel that unless someone knows your heart, it hard to judge people actions and ascribe faith or lack of faith. People can be doing the same level of work but have a completely different level of faith. One could be laboring out of the deep fear that if he doesn’t earn enough, his family could be in ruin. The other could be laboring just as hard but because his work energizes him. IDK, but it seems like a tough call to make to me. That said, I do agree balance is key!

    • Yeah, it is tough to establish a balance in this society. We are to be diligent and work hard to provide for ourselves and our families, but sometimes we can go too far and end up neglecting those who we are working for!

      A lot of times we work hard in order to accumulate possessions, but we use the idea of providing for our families as an excuse. As you said, it can come from fear or greed, however neither one honors God.

      So ultimately, we have to find a balance between honoring God by working hard, and honoring God by being involved in the lives of our loved ones.

      Also, the idea of faith will show up in us trusting God to provide for us as long as we work hard.

      Thanks for the thoughtful comment!

  7. Great article, Khaleef! I did an entire Bible study on work and you’ve hit the main highlights. I think Scripture is clear that we ought to work diligently but not to the point of exhausting ourselves simply in an attempt to satisfy greed. You did an excellent job organizing this piece and bringing out the main points.

  8. I think we do have some issues here with the modern meaning of this teaching, both from the Old and New Testaments. In biblical times, the economy was agricultural; most people both lived and worked on farms and in small shops. The lines between work and home/family were nearly non-existent–you worked where lived for the most part. Family often helped in that work.

    Today it’s more compartmentalized, and work is less about direct suvival (ie, food production, fishing, etc) and more about earning units of production in the form of money. That creates a fine line between working to support your family and working to accumulate–even if that accumulation is done in the name of security for your family. How much security is enough? How much is too much? Those might be the more relevant questions today.

    In other places, the Bible teaches us not to strive–which is stretching ourselves to work for more than our share. We also know that over-commitment to work can have a negative affect on both marriages and children.

    What I’m saying, in a lot of words, is that we’ll always struggle with this, perhaps more than the original farmers who heard the teachings.

    • Great point, Kevin! Because our work and home lives are so compartmentalized, and we work for money and not the basics of life, we have to be very careful not to take these commands too far!

      How much is enough or too much? Those are a couple of really tough questions!

      I think that it’s easy to work past the point of supporting ourselves and we need to make sure we are doing everything to the glory and honor of Christ!

      Thanks for the great comment – you may have inspired another article!