Work, labor, and suffering are not words well received today. Wealth and modern conveniences have created a world where ease and comfort are celebrated as the ultimate goal. This unhealthy celebration of ease and comfort has also infected the church. Many Christians today see their relationship with the church and gospel work not in terms of sacrifice and service but in terms of consumer choice and comfort.

God calls every Christian to labor in the gospel work. And God equips faithful Christians for the work. No Christian is called to be only a consumer. Ease and comfort are not the ultimate goals of followers of Christ. Christians are called to be about gospel work regardless of cost or difficulty. 2 Timothy 2:1-7 teaches three fundamental truths that must be understood by those who desire to be faithful to the gospel work.

We live in a world that values things. The sales pitch is always the same, “more things equal more happiness.” We like to hear that we “need” more things, or we “deserve” more things. So often, the temptation to judge our own value or success by the number of things we have collected overwhelms us. And as a result, we pursue an unattainable goal to have enough. The tragedy of all this striving for more is that we invest our resources, talents, and efforts in the attempt to attain things that will never be able to hold the value that was spent pursuing them.

There are riches that brings blessing, but these are not recognized by the world nor celebrated by men. The true treasures that bring true blessings are the things of the Lord. Seek after true treasure and being rich toward God.