*Text: Eccl. 10: 10*
“Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.”
People work hard today and yet they remain unsuccessful and oftentimes when you ask them for an explanation for this lack of success, the general believe seem to be that, they are not working hard enough, even some of these people themselves seem to be of the opinion that if only they can work harder, work more jobs, put in more time in their work they will make it, and so they make themselves available to work overtime in their place of work, they engage themselves in more jobs all in a bid to achieve financial comfort and to succeed but at the end all their effort still fails to yield the desired results. It did not occur to them that perhaps the problem is not that they are not working harder, it could just be instead that they are not working smart.
Our texts paints the picture of a perfect example of someone who is working hard but not working smart. Imagine using a dull to axe to cut a tree, apart from the fact that it involves a lot of hard work and also a lot of time will be spent, you may not be successful in cutting the tree because at some point fatigue will set in and you will not be able to continue. Those who see you working so hard may commend you that you are hardworking but unfortunately it is hard work that will not produce the desired result even after a lot of time has been spent. Regardless of all his efforts and energy expended in such a fruitless exercise the worker will be described as a foolish worker because what the wise worker will have done differently will be to sharpen the axe first and then you will find that with less effort and less energy expended the desired goal will be achieved.
So hard work is good, laziness is definitely an attribute that anyone who seek to succeed in life must avoid, but hard work alone will not lead to success or financial freedom, you also need to learn to work smart as well. Working smart involves looking to see the opportunities around you and taking advantage of them, it involves learning new and better ways of doing your job and using those ways to your advantage, it involves being humble enough to learn from others what they are doing better than you that has made them succeed in the same labor where you have failed, it involves taking the necessary steps to learn and fully understand a business before plunging into it, rather than just going into a business because you see that others are doing it and they seem to be succeeding.
Are you working hard or working smart, which is it? The right answer to that question can deliver you from years of fruitless hard work and firmly position you on the path of success and financial freedom. Shalom
Prayer Points
1. Father thank you for enriching my life with grace not only to work hard but also to work smart
2. Father please help me to rightly apply this this grace in my life, my career and my work, such that my hard work will count in Jesus name
3. Father you are also the God of revelation, please show me the better way of doing the things I am doing now that will lead to better productivity for me in Jesus name
4. Father please deliver me totally from fruitless labor in whatever form it may be manifesting in my life in Jesus name.
5. Father may I daily grow in wisdom such that I will be able to constantly come up with better ways of getting greater results out of my endeavors in life in Jesus name.
And I sincerely want to dedicate this article to some people I look up to in read.cash, they are
@MarcDeMesel @Greencrowds.OrgOrgO
@Joeprincess@Ghidknows @Lynne @Jthan
@Good_guy13 @Dan_jay @uncle_j @Ipiya @Greatness96 @Mhery_04 @Jordan46 @Ricrhymix@sheensheen13
Amen