Hard Work Builds Character

A motto and a mission

Good Morning, and welcome back to The Workbox. I am glad that you made the return journey. Speaking of the journey, in case you missed last week's post you can find it here. If you are new to The Workbox, welcome! I would recommend heading over to the archives and browsing some of the most popular works so far!

Something that I wanted to write about is a phrase that I adopted as a kid. This phrase became a motto of sorts for me in my formative years. "Hard work builds character." I am sure I am not the first to use this, but at the time, I thought I had made it up. As I have matured mentally, physically, and spiritually, this motto has taken on a deeper dimension and has grown contours and shadows, adding depth and fullness to it.

Let us break the motto down into two parts. First, we will talk about Hard Work and then the second part is Builds Character. When I say hard work, I do not mean vain toil. Though it can build character, I think most often it tends to build resentment and bitterness rather than the good kind of character. The best kind of hard work is difficult but has a goal that lies ahead. One can see down the road and know where one is going like digging a trench or building a house. The end goal is clear, but the process can be laborious and lengthy.

When I was a kid, the motto motivated me to strive to be consistent in the effort I gave when I was working. The motto arose from the Christian work ethic I was taught by my parents, church, and my own beliefs. I was taught to work hard and glorify God with my effort, directing the glory to him instead of myself when the job was done. I worked hard to please God and to help my neighbor as I would want to be helped.

There is a temptation here. Successful hard work can lead to pride. And pride can take deep roots in a kid. There are roots of it in my own heart still from the way that I internalized the truths of hard work. One can be tempted to think that the way that I work hard is the only right and best way. It can lead to looking down upon others and judging them for their "lack of character." It can also lead to unrealistic standards in your co-workers. I would often become frustrated because others were not working as hard as I thought I was. Thankfully, in recent years many of those roots have been pulled thanks to a great friend and mentor of mine. (Thanks Luke)

I had the blessing and opportunity to teach a class on Ecclesiastes for a couple of years at the school where I worked. I learned so much while studying and prepping for those classes. One of the key themes that I took away was that my ability to work hard and enjoy the accomplished work was a gift from God. John Piper says, "When we drink water, that satisfaction is a gift." This enlightened my view of work, God gave me the ability to work hard for his glory and purpose. He gives those opportunities for me to submit to his will and be a blessing to others.

Now I can work hard for the sake of honoring the Lord without carrying the unrealistic expectations of my heavy self-imposed standards. When the standard is outside of myself, it is unchangeable. I can always see it and strive for it. God is the standard. I work hard to please him with the jobs He has given me. Ephesians 2.10 is one of my pillars of work ethic.

But what kind of character is built from working hard? What things are made from working besides sore muscles and blisters? Character is an internal quality, it is a matter of the heart. Hard work is like a sculptor that we are willing to bring our blocks of marble to. We treasure these blocks and we have grand ideas for how they should turn out. We begin to work and the sculptor starts to chip away at the sculpture. We may find that the process can be messy, loud, and not at all like we were expecting. There is a temptation to stop working as hard and to coast. We kind of like how our block of marble looks after all.

But God is faithful. He has promised to sanctify us and he has also promised to give us work to do. Through this work and His Spirit, we are molded into the image of Christ. We can turn to the fruits of the Spirit and the character of love and see what the sculpture should look like. Our character is ever-growing and changing, hopefully in the right direction. As we submit to the Spirit and he forms us through the work that we do, our character is tested and refined. Eventually, our character is built into a house that is welcoming and good.

The character that comes from hard work is good, but the character that comes from the hard work that God has given us is unique. It takes the rough days and turns its eyes to God and rests in the joy and peace of Christ. It rests in the hope that this is only temporary and that one day soon there will be no more rough days. In the meantime, there is work to do. We are a light, an example, to others of what it means to work hard, day in and day out for our God.

What are some important lessons that you learned about working hard? What character moments do you remember having when you were in a tough situation at work or doing something hard? Comment below or head over to the chat!