Ten Commandments of Financial Wisdom # 9 – Thou Shalt Work Hard

Friends, please take a moment to celebrate the return of the Prodigal Son, Cristiano Ronaldo back home to the great institution that is Manchester United Football Club. Continuing the ham-fisted Bible analogies, it is my firm belief that he has come back to lead us to the Promised Land of former glories, following our extended period in the (relative) wilderness.

By now I’m sure that Arsenal fans are foaming at the mouth, so I promise you that I am going somewhere with this. The reason that Mr. Ronaldo is the focus of my blog is because he is the perfect example of the success that can be achieved with hard work and sacrifice.

When Ronaldo first joined United, despite being talented he was not physically strong and did not score many goals. However, he decided to put extra hours in the gym to build his physique, stay late after training to improve his finishing and basically focus every area of his life to work towards being a better footballer. (EDIT – Since I first wrote this post, Ronaldo has broken the Men’s international goal scoring record with 111 goals!)

In Proverbs 22:29 (ESV) it says:

‘Do you see a man skilful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.’

The results of his efforts are clear for the world to see and proof that hard work works.

There are countless other examples in different fields that I could have used and ultimately, I think this principle is also applicable to eventual financial success. For the majority of people, it will be necessary to grind and sacrifice in order to generate the capital and income necessary to achieve financial independence. This process takes time but it builds character and leads to rewards. This may appear to be common sense but unfortunately common sense is not that common, hence the vast number of people seduced by ‘Get Rich Quick Schemes’ each year.

I was once told that the only place that ‘success’ comes before ‘work’ is in the dictionary!  Many people want to achieve success in the way in which it applies to them, but not all these people are willing to put in the work to get there. People are often presented with choices in life that might look like this:

A: Work hard at your job and take some professional qualifications to improve your promotion/new job prospects.

B: Invest in a ‘business opportunity’ selling freeze-dried adzuki beans as the ‘cure’ for weight gain.

It sounds ridiculous when you look at it in screen but brothers and sisters, many people are falling for option B or variations of it every single day! They talk about this amazing business opportunity and how rich they will become, all the while someone else is quietly and diligently working away, slowly but surely working hard towards their financial success. Proverbs 12:11 (NLT) sums this up well by saying the following:

‘A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies has no sense.’

Good, honest hard work will get you to financial independence NOT freeze dried adzuki beans!

The Bible speaks very highly on the value of working hard and takes a very dim view of laziness. I was shocked to find out that the Bible condemns laziness more than drunkenness! I mean as Christians, we can declare our holy righteousness in not getting drunk, but when we consider where laziness may exist in our life, this might make us eat one or two slices of humble pie. In 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NLT) it says:

‘Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”’

Food for thought (pun intended) for teenagers up and down the country.

To further illustrate the point, God Himself is a worker. He worked so hard creating the world that He took a day to rest. Jesus is a worker, John 9:4 (NKJV) says:

‘I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.’

The Holy Spirit works in us. If The Trinity itself is working, then we must work also. If we work hard to the best of our ability, I’m confident that God will bless our labour.

I am very conscious that this post has less financial content than previous ones, however it is my firm belief that this principle is a crucial part of financial wisdom. In order to build wealth and reach financial freedom, you must be willing to ignore shortcuts and put in the time and effort necessary.

In Proverbs 14:23 it says:

‘All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.’

Let’s commit to being people who are less talk and more action. The rewards for our efforts will surely come.

God bless

Ten Talents