Every Day I'm Hustlin'

Why do I work so hard and get nothing?

Sometimes things happen unexpectedly, and it can be more frustrating than if you had known it was going to be that way. The Bible actually in Genesis 3:17-19,

And to the man he said,

“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree

whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,

the ground is cursed because of you.

All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.

It will grow thorns and thistles for you,

though you will eat of its grains.

By the sweat of your brow

will you have food to eat

until you return to the ground

from which you were made.

For you were made from dust,

and to dust you will return.”

As a result of sin, men are destined to work and work hard! This can be pretty frustrating, especially since our society seems to be full of celebrities that don't appear to be working hard and have an abundance of money and stuff. I think we have to consider what are we working for? What are we striving to obtain or gain from our hard work? What should we be working for anyways? Well, Jesus gives some advice in Matthew 6:19-21,

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Jesus is telling us to turn our focus from things, money, and earthly wealth and focus on a heavenly cause. The question then arises, "How do I store treasures in heaven?"

Matthew 25:34-36,40 says,

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

This is saying that we must care for people. We must serve people. In fact, James 2:6 says,

Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

Now I don't want to get it twisted though. Works cannot save you. Ephesians 2:8 says,

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

Also in Romans 11:6 the Bible reads,

And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

So the treasures of good works are a result of salvation not a price to buy salvation. Ultimately, in order to start storing up treasures in heaven we must first have a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you would like to know more about this free gift from God, check out, "What must I do to be saved?" or CHAT with one of our friendly counselors.

Lets summarize!

Earthly treasures: hard to come by, don't last, ultimately unsatisfying

Heavenly treasures: get by serving others as a result of salvation by faith and lasts forever

Did I answer this question fully or is there some aspect or question you still have? Ask your clarifying questions in my SUBMIT section.