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Work Ethic: No shortcuts
Every day my children show me what I must have been like to my parents when I was growing up. Some days are good; some are not pretty. I occasionally have 30-year flashbacks, when I can hear my father’s voice in my own as I am scolding the troops.
It is part of our sinful inheritance to want the harvest without the work. Satan is a liar and cheater, and so we shouldn’t be surprised to see such a strong inclination to shortcuts in ourselves and others. Fantasizing about hitting a jackpot through gambling will always sound like more fun than working. Cheating and stealing always seem to go so much faster and easier than working.
Satan owns the short term. Sin always provides that short burst of excitement. “Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel” (Proverbs 20:17). God alone owns the long term. He has the future--your future--already planned out. He’s already watched the DVD of your life, including this chapter about your deployment.
I can’t tell you exactly what shortcuts Satan will want you to take while you’re on your mission. I can only tell you that he wants you to take them. And God doesn’t.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to you: God’s way is better.
There are no shortcuts to satisfaction and true peace of mind. There are no shortcuts to a job well done and a successful mission. So don’t take them. You really won’t like the taste of gravel.
Every day my children show me what I must have been like to my parents when I was growing up. Some days are good; some are not pretty. I occasionally have 30-year flashbacks, when I can hear my father’s voice in my own as I am scolding the troops.
It is part of our sinful inheritance to want the harvest without the work. Satan is a liar and cheater, and so we shouldn’t be surprised to see such a strong inclination to shortcuts in ourselves and others. Fantasizing about hitting a jackpot through gambling will always sound like more fun than working. Cheating and stealing always seem to go so much faster and easier than working.
Satan owns the short term. Sin always provides that short burst of excitement. “Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel” (Proverbs 20:17). God alone owns the long term. He has the future--your future--already planned out. He’s already watched the DVD of your life, including this chapter about your deployment.
I can’t tell you exactly what shortcuts Satan will want you to take while you’re on your mission. I can only tell you that he wants you to take them. And God doesn’t.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to you: God’s way is better.
There are no shortcuts to satisfaction and true peace of mind. There are no shortcuts to a job well done and a successful mission. So don’t take them. You really won’t like the taste of gravel.
Scripture
About this Plan
The experience of serving your country overseas--and sometimes seeing firsthand man’s inhumanity to man--may teach you important lessons about life while turning your stomach at the same time. But recognize that God has an even better way for us to learn life wisdom, a way that continually draws us closer to him no matter how far from family or church we might be. Because of his great love for us, he would much rather make us wiser through words. In this way we wouldn’t be sadder but wiser; we would be wiser and happier. The Bible’s book of Proverbs is an absolute gold mine of wisdom for the daily decisions you must make. It will help you develop your personal values and tune your life’s agenda more closely to resemble God’s.
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We would like to thank Time of Grace Ministry for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: www.timeofgrace.org
