Besides providing for our needs and bringing honor to our name and God’s, hard work can help us to gain wealth beyond what is required to meet our needs. To honor God with this extra money, we need to be focused on how we can serve Him with our extra instead of thinking about how we can use it all for ourselves.

Hard Work Brings Wealth

       Hard work is the fuel for wealth. (The engine would be spending less than you earn because that’s what actually gets you to wealth.) We cannot gain wealth without hard work, regardless of whether we’re trying to honor God or ourselves. And it’s not enough to work “just enough”. We have to be willing to put in the effort:

       He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand, but the hand of the diligent brings wealth.

Proverbs 10:4 (WEB)

       Once we combine work with diligence and focus, then we can begin to gain wealth. We can all think of people we’ve worked with who did only what was required so they didn’t get fired. But it’s rarely those people who get the promotions, raises, and bonuses. This principle of working with a diligent hand is even more important for the self-employed. When you are your own boss, your income is primarily the result of your effort.

Honoring God with Your Wealth

       We’ve already determined that God calls Christians to work hard. Being lazy and bumming around when we are able to work does not glorify God at all. When we begin working hard, we not only honor God but we also reap the benefits of our work – namely providing for our needs.

       The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.

Proverbs 21:25 (WEB)

       But it’s not just how we work that makes Christians different from the rest of the world. It’s what we do with the wealth we gain from our work. The worldly view is to use whatever you earn for yourself – it’s your money, so do what you want with it. The Christian view should be vastly different. Everything we have, do, earn, or gain belongs to God. And after meeting our needs, we are to honor God with the rest of our wealth by giving generously. (And by needs, I do not mean a luxury car because you “need” transportation.)

       Take a moment to realize how different that idea is from the rest of the world. While everyone else is worried about how they can get a bigger house, better car, nicer clothes, fancier country club – more and nicer stuff – Christians are supposed to be focused on how we can glorify God with what He has given us. How can we bless more people, meet the needs of the hungry, cloth the naked, shelter the homeless, heal the sick, comfort the mourning and the lonely? Those are the things that should constantly be on our mind. While the world is seeking more and more for itself, we’re trying to give more and more of ourselves.

       There are those who covet greedily all day long; but the righteous give and don’t withhold.

Proverbs 21:26 (WEB)

       This idea of giving generously out of our wealth, even to the point of denying many of our own wants, seems like utter foolishness to the world. But for Christians who trust in God and believe Christ, it is a sure reward. We are no longer working just so we can buy more stuff. We’re not breaking our backs so we can keep a house that’s much larger than we actually need. We are working so we can glorify God by giving away the wealth we gain and blessing the poor and needy. We are working for a sure reward.

       Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

Proverbs 11:18 (WEB)