“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
Colossians 3:23-24
What does it mean to “work heartily”? What exactly defines a “strong work ethic”?
There are two essential qualities that must be present for a strong work ethic to be built.
1. Tenacity
2. Consistency
Without either of these two attributes, a fully fledged man with a strong work ethic cannot be formed.
Let’s start with tenacity. If we were to add a bit more color to that verse in Colossians 3, we might say that Paul is advocating for Christians to work “whole-heartedly” rather than “half-heartedly” as for the Lord in whatever is that they set their hands to. If this is to be obeyed and carried out in our lives, then we must have a measure of tenacity and intensity in the way that we attack the work that God has given us to do. For men, especially, this entails a degree of aggression. We cannot sit back and wait for the fulfillment of our duties to fall into our laps. We must attack. We must be the ones to bring the fight. Before we can take the fight to the world around us, however, we must first take the fight to ourselves. We must be in the continual process of repenting and putting sin to death. We must be in the process of disciplining our bodies and minds, and taking every thought captive to Christ. Tenacity, intensity, and aggression are attributes that must be honed through physical means. You cannot teach tenacity on paper. It must be acted out. This, in my opinion, is one of the most important aspects of physical training. Liking the idea of being a tenacious man and actually being one are very different things. The difference comes in the act of mentally and physically living it out. You must be tenacious.
We cannot sit back and wait for the fulfillment of our duties to fall into our laps. We must attack. We must be the ones to bring the fight. Before we can take the fight to the world around us, however, we must first take the fight to ourselves.
Next we have consistency. We have terms in the English language to describe people who are not consistent: flukes, flaky, one hit wonders, sunshine patriots. Scripture calls us to stand in opposition to this lack of standard bearing. We are called to imitate Christ, who was perfect, holding with “heart, soul, mind and strength” to every precept of the Law for every breath of His earthly life. If we are to “work heartily as to the Lord”, then a lack of consistency must be fought tooth and nail. Many are capable of one intense effort every few months or years. Few are willing to do the necessary work day in and day out that improvement requires. One intense workout or healthy meal per week is not enough. Whole-hearted devotion to the cause of disciplined self-government, regardless of setbacks, is the calling of those who work “as for the Lord and not for men”. Diligence and consistency are essential. Be tenaciously consistent, and consistently tenacious in your work “knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
