In 1971, the fast-food restaurant chain McDonald’s introduced an advertising slogan: “You deserve a break today—at McDonald’s.” The advertisement was an instant hit and helped McDonald’s become the giant company it is today.
The influence of the catchy slogan, however, went far beyond getting people to buy a McDonald’s hamburger. The slogan became the mantra of the American psyche. People began to believe they deserve a break.
Now there’s nothing wrong with taking a break. Medical doctors and psychologists agree that we need periodic rest and recreation. This is one reason God tells us to take a day off from work once a week. Unfortunately, too many of us have fallen victim to the attitude of thinking we deserve, not only a day off, but we deserve an entire life of ease and comfort.
God wants us to take a day off from work, but he also wants us work. The Bible says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it (Genesis 2:15). Hard work is not a negative thing, it’s a positive thing. By working hard we have the satisfaction of accomplishment, being a productive citizen, and providing for our family.
The same is true in our spiritual lives. We should work hard for the Lord, and this is how it is for most of us when we first come to the Lord. When we are new believers, we want to serve God. We get busy as active members of our church. Unfortunately, as time goes along, many Christians become complacent. Mediocrity creeps in, and we become spectators rather than active participants. Like aged athletes who think their best days are behind them, we sit on the bench and watch others do the hard work. This is not right. We need to be like Caleb who at the age of eighty went to fight for the territory God had given him.
The battle for the souls of men and women isn’t yet over. There’s still much to be done. Don’t surrender to the worldly philosophy of thinking comfort is a priority of life. Comfort is like bad cholesterol clogging the arteries of your spiritual life. Don’t sacrifice your aspirations to serve the true God by worshipping the false gods of comfort and ease. Don’t believe the humanistic notion that you deserve a comfortable, stress-free live.
Our surrender to comfort began when we began to tell ourselves that we deserve a break. God tells us to work. As Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field (Matthew 9:37-38).”
My prayer is that God will wake us from mediocrity and inspire us with the fire of his Spirit so that we will continue to work hard to win the world for Jesus Christ.
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