by Seneca Moraleda- Puguan|
Does God deserve the credit and the glory for our hard work?
This is a debate that has gone viral since a content creator replied to one of his fans telling him that it’s not God who gave him success but his hard work.
I am not here to bash the content creator for his response. He already received a lot of criticism, which is not necessary.
He is a Filipino who was raised in Thailand and they worship the elephant. He doesn’t believe in the God of Catholics and Christians. He definitely would not credit the god he serves for the success he has achieved.
This discussion intrigued me and caused me to reflect on my life. The achievements I receive, the successes I gain in life, all the resources that I have… Are they attributed solely to hard work?
Hard work should definitely be recognized and rewarded. Besides, without it, nothing will be achieved.
It’s graduation season in the Philippines now, and many students are given awards for all their efforts and hard work during the past school year. Hard work is an integral part of the equation if we want to be successful in life.
But I believe that hard work is not the be-all and end-all. All our efforts will only take us somewhere, but not to the end. There’s one important factor that should not be missed out. It’s grace.
In 1 Corinthians 15:10 (The Message), Apostle Paul said, “But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it.”
The New Living Translation says, “But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.”
Oh grace, what a wonderful gift.
Looking at my life and where God has brought me now, living in Switzerland with my husband and two beautiful children, I must say that it’s all by God’s grace.
I have been working hard all my life as I moved from one country to another, but it is because of the amazing and sufficient grace of God working through me in everything that has brought me to where I am.
Every single day, I am grateful. I am nothing apart from His grace. I have nothing to boast about but only His grace. I live by His grace.
Yes, I boldly declare that God deserves the credit for everything because He is the Creator of all that we see and have.
Gazing at the breathtaking sunset, witnessing the birds that fly high up in the air, hearing the powerful waves that crash on the shore, and seeing the beautiful smiles on my children’s faces–they all point to God’s awesome grace, undeserved but freely given.
I saw this reel on Facebook where a pastor said:
“Our abilities, opportunities, and circumstances that God orchestrated in our lives for us to thrive are ultimately blessings from our God. By crediting God, we are not discounting our efforts. By thanking God, we are not diminishing our hard work. Acknowledging God in our hard work is ultimately knowing that we are just empowered by His grace.”
I firmly agree with her.
I pray that as we work hard to reach our goals and fulfill our dreams, we will experience the empowerment of our God and recognize that it is all by His grace.
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