Are you willing to pay now and play later?
The concept that if you work really hard now, that later on, it will pay off and you can relax or reap the benefits.
You retire after years of hard work and get a nice pension.
You workout hard for a few months so that you can feel better in the long term.
You save every penny for a month so that you can relax when you go on vacation.
You live below your means now so that you can enjoy a nice house later.
You save yourself for marriage, even though it may be hard now, so that it pays of later when you do get married.
And the list goes on.
So many of us do not want to put in the hard work now, so that later on we can relax and enjoy life.
How different would our lives be if we lived a lifestyle of sacrifice?
What if we set time aside every day to pray and spend time with God? What if we exercised daily and took care of the temple God gave us? What if we protected our purity and integrity? What if we worked hard at everything now, that way we could enjoy the relaxation later?
As Christians, we should be living a daily life of sacrifice. Always giving our best. Always serving others. Always using our gifts. Always being diligent with our finances. Always treating our bodies well. Always speaking life over others.
A life of sacrifice was hard work. But our goal is to live like Jesus and he was the definition of sacrifice. He sacrificed his life to give us ours.
We see this when Jesus told this parable in Luke 19. He goes on to tell the story of a nobleman who was called away to be crowned king and then return. And before he left, he called together ten of his servants and gave them each the same amount of money. He told them to invest it for him while he was gone.
When he came back after his journey, he gathered the servants to see their profits.
The first servant did the best, invested the money and made ten times the amount!
Luke 19:17
And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you proved yourself faithful and trustworthy in a very little thing, you shall now have authority over ten cities in my kingdom.’
He was rewarded big time!!
I believe that God rewards the hard work that we do too. If we are faithful and trustworthy in the little things, he will trust us with much.
Are you willing to live a life of hard work and sacrifice (pay now), because that verse is proof that the reward will be well worth it (play later).
You may be sacrificing comfort, time, effort or desires. But we have to remember why we sacrifice and who we sacrifice for. We reap blessings for the hard work that we sow.
Because if you are doing it for Jesus, it is well worth it. Everything we do should be for him, even the little things. And then He blesses us for our obedience!
So, are you willing to pay now and play later?
Response Questions
1. What areas do you notice that you have a hard time sacrificing in?
2. How can you work harder now so that you can relax later?
Pray with me!
Father God, help me to live a life of sacrifice and thank you for the sacrifice you gave for me. I want everything I do to be done for your glory. Give me the strength to work hard now so that I can reap the blessings. You are so good to me. Help me to live a life of sacrifice.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
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