In my years of ministry, it has been obvious that not everyone wants to work for what they want. That’s where that darn 80/20 rule comes in. I would venture to say that 20% of the people are willing to work for something they want. While 80% won’t. There is no scientific data to back up my thoughts, its just my assumption.
Where did we get the notion that “Good” things, “God” things should come to us without work? Where did we get the idea that we don’t have to make a sacrifice to accomplish our dreams and goals? That what we want will “Just Happen”?
Maybe it all started with fast food….the drive thru, take and go concept. Maybe, it started with the invention of the microwave or instant foods. If it wasn’t bad enough that we had instant coffee, then came along the Keurig coffee machine. Heaven forbid that we still pull out a filter, get the coffee out, measure what we need, then pour in the water and WAIT for the machine to make coffee. OH MY GOODNESS, THAT WOULD BE AN ATROCITY!!! Heaven forbid that we might have to put some labor into what we want. And to top it off, if we have to wait at the drive-thru we even get impatient at that!!!
How are we ever going to have what God has for us if we want it in an instant?
God’s not an instant, on demand god. We can’t call up and place our order of wants and immediately get what we are asking for. If God gives us an assignment or tells us we are going to be a famous writer, it doesn’t happen in an “instant”. It takes work. It takes time. It takes effort, sweat, and commitment on our part.
Noah had an assignment from God. Guess what? IT ONLY TOOK him 120 YEARS TO BUILD THE ARK!!! And today we want it in an instant.
The question for us to ponder is this: Do we have the kind of commitment it takes? Do we have that stick-to-it-ness to take our dream and make it a reality? Only you can answer that question. But it’s a good question to ask. We can’t blame others for what we are not willing to put in some effort for.