The 7 Principles Of God's Work Ethic

There are certain principles by which each individual lives by. The way you do things is based on certain principles that you hold and follow. Some of you may know what your principles are but a vast majority of us are not aware of what the principles are that we live by. Examples of such principles may be as follows:-

i) By any means necessary – meaning we will achieve any objective we may have by any method, whether justified or not, as long as the end result has been achieved. This is almost the same as “the end justifies the means” way of thinking.

ii) Complete honesty – meaning we will maintain honesty in all our dealings i.e. no lies but truth.

iii) What’s in it for me? – meaning we will only help people if there is some form of benefit we will enjoy from doing so.

These are just a few of the myriad of principles we live by or by which we do our business. Depending on your disposition, some may be seen as good or bad but at the end of the day it’s not our concept of right and wrong that determines what is good or bad but God’s, therefore listed below are what I think are the most important of God’s principles of ethical behaviour. We will explore each in more detail and discuss the implication and practical application to our daily lives.

The seven principles of God’s work ethic are as follows:-

1. He performs tasks perfectly the first time He executes them. Genesis 1 v 31

2. He takes full responsibility, is fully committed and sees all tasks He performs through to completion. Philippians 1 v 6

3. He does not compromise on the required high standard. Ephesians 5 v 27

4. He maintains honesty and integrity. Proverbs 11 v 1

5. He performs all tasks at the right time. Ecclesiastes 3 v 1

6. He only performs tasks that are necessary. Mark 8 v 11-12

7. He is prepared to make a sacrifice. John 3 v 16

We will now discuss each principle in more detail, discussing its implication and practical application to our daily lives.

He performs tasks perfectly the first time He executes them.
Genesis 1 v 31, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very good.”

We all know that God is perfect and therefore everything He does is perfect. There is never a time when God does something and He has to go back and rectify an “error”. Now some smart aleck may decide to cite the story documented in Mark 8 v 22-26 when Jesus touched a blind man twice before he could receive his sight. That in no way constitutes God having to correct an error but there is a spiritual principle being taught there which we will not go into detail in this teaching. Back to the point at hand; because God is perfect, each time He performs a task, He does it perfectly at the first attempt. This means each time God does something, He would perform the task correctly, at the required high standard and without error. This means that God cannot sin. Deuteronomy 32 v 4 confirms this saying, “[He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.” Now that we have established that God is perfect, what are the implications for us? In Matthew 5 v 48 the Lord Jesus says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” To be perfect in all our dealings is a call to obedience for it is impossible for us to be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect, if we do not obey His commands. When we obey God, in a way we have done things right the first time. The benefits of obedience are obvious though our motivation is love for God. 1 John 5 v 3 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” When we love God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength, obedience to His commandments will not be difficult and therefore we are being called upon to love God. The logical flow will lead us to a place where we need to be in a relationship with God. Therefore for us to be able to live by this first principle, which means obedience to God, we need to be in a relationship with Him, where we love Him and obey His commandments therefore we are being called to repent of our sins and place our trust in the death of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross as a propitiation for our sins. This will lead us to walk by the Spirit of God and He will enable us to live a life of obedience.

He takes full responsibility, is fully committed and sees all tasks He performs through to completion.
Philippians 1 v 6 says, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ”

God does not start something that He does not finish. God is fully committed to His mission and will see it through to completion. In Isaiah 55 v 11 God says, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it.” God is confirming that whatever He sets out to do, will be accomplished. This high level of commitment and responsibility shown by God is set as an example for us to walk by faith. In other words for us to follow God’s example in being fully committed, responsible and seeing things through to completion, is a call to faith. It is impossible to be committed to anything unless you had faith that it will be successful. Many people will not dare start a business unless they had absolute assurance that it will be successful. Some people have full belief in their dream to the point where they pursue it relentlessly because they have faith that ultimately it will work out. Since we do not have the power to determine outcomes, we can only have faith in God and hold on to that faith steadfastly. If we have full assurance that God will fulfil His promises, we will have no reason to abandon the faith. We can only be fully committed to our walk with God by faith in God.

He does not compromise on the required high standard.
Ephesians 5 v 27 says, “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

In everything that He does, God ensures that the quality of His work is at the required high standard. He does not compromise on quality. James 1 v 17 confirms this saying, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” The example we should follow is that we should not compromise our standing with God by seeking to conform to the low standards of this world. This is a call to holiness. To be holy is to be separate and consecrated for a sacred work. 2 Corinthians 6 v 17 says, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing;] and I will receive you” God does not compromise on His required high standard which is why in His mercy He washes us spotlessly clean by the blood shed by His Son on the cross from the stain of sin and through the washing of the water by the word, He sanctifies us through and through by His Spirit so that we may be holy and be able to be received by Him. Therefore the call on us is to maintain that high standard in our conduct in the world. We should not compromise who we are as Christians in order to be at peace with the world. In everything we do, God calls on us to give it 100% and maintain that high standard He so requires.

He maintains honesty and integrity.
Proverbs 11 v 1 says, “A false balance [is] abomination to the LORD: but a just weight [is] his delight.”

God hates dishonesty. It is mentioned countless times in the book of Proverbs of how God hates a false witness. Titus 1 v 2 says, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” God cannot lie and He hates it when we lie. God calls us to be truthful in our dealings. He hates it when we falsify information and deceive our neighbours. In this case God calls us to repentance. Now you may ask what the link is and here it is. Romans 3 v 23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. Honesty involves you examining yourself and truthfully acknowledging your sin before God. For the unbeliever this involves not resisting the conviction of the Holy Spirit when the gospel is preached and allowing Him to lead you into repentance. If we keep resisting Him and running away from repentance, we make Him out to be a liar but the Lord says in Matthew 19 v 17a, “And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is,] God”. The Bible makes an explicit declaration that no one is good therefore an honest judgement of oneself, leads you to confessing your shortcomings and placing yourself at the foot of the cross understanding that only the death and resurrection of Christ is the satisfactory recompense for your sin.

For the professing believer, this means a careful examination of your life to see whether you truly are in the faith. 2 Corinthians 13 v 5, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” This calls for you to as a professing believer to examine the fruit that you produce to see whether it is in keeping with the Word of God for if your fruit is bad, it means you may not be in the faith and may have to truly search your heart in this matter. This I will discuss in later topics.

He performs all tasks at the right time.
Ecclesiastes 3 v 1 says, “To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”

God does not do things at any time but rather at the right time. God has stipulated that under heaven, everything has its season. Therefore God does things at the time that He has set aside for them. God does not do things a moment earlier or a moment later. The implication for us is this: the Great Commission. This is a call to witness. 2 Corinthians 6 v 2 says, “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.” If now is the appointed time for salvation (For we know the Judgment is coming) then the necessary thing today, is to preach the Gospel. The clear instruction the Lord left us before He ascended up was this as Mark 16 v 15-16 puts it, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Therefore every Christian should be engaging in this work of witnessing the Gospel as this is the appointed time for salvation. A time will come when it’s too late therefore for the unbeliever, the reverse is true in that now is the appointed time to repent and believe the Gospel.

He only performs tasks that are necessary.
Mark 8 v 11-12 says, “And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.”

In this little story, Jesus is approached by the Pharisees who demand a sign from Him for them to believe that He is truly the Messiah. According to the Lord, it was unnecessary for Him to prove Himself to them by performing a miracle because it would have eliminated the need for them to have faith in Him. It was unnecessary for Jesus to show them a sign but needful for them to believe and therefore no sign would be given. In this principle, God is calling us to seek His will. Many of us may have many ambitions and tasks that we may want to do. Some of the things we want to do may sound good and Godly but at the end of the day, God requires that we do His will because doing His will is the necessary thing for each one of us. Ephesians 2 v 10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” God already has the work planned for us to do and it is unnecessary for us to come up with a ‘plan’ and execute it. The secret to effectiveness is in doing only the necessary and the secret to being an effective Christian, is in seeking and obeying God’s will. This is a call to surrender. We are required to surrender our will so that God’s will takes precedence in our lives. The Lord set this example in the Garden of Gethsemane when, as it is written in Mark 14 v 36, He prayed, “And he said, Abba, Father, all things [are] possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” The Lord speaking of His death and resurrection said in John 12 v 24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” In the Lord obeying the Father to death on the cross, He carried out God’s will and that brought salvation to us: the much fruit. If we discard our selfish ambitions and desires, we like the Lord pick up our cross and as a result we live a life in obedience to God thus bearing much fruit. Many of us in Church sing ‘I surrender all…’ but have we really surrendered all? Are we prepared to forgo convenience for God’s sake so that He may work effectively in us? Even in day to day life, there are certain times when we are called to forgo convenience for the sake of progress and if we cannot live by this principle, we cannot be Christ’s disciples. Mark 8 v 34-36, “And when he had called the people [unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

He is prepared to make a sacrifice.
John 3 v 16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

In order to achieve His goal, God was prepared to make a sacrifice. The motivation was His love for man and therefore in God being prepared to make a sacrifice, He is calling us to love. John 15 v 12-13 says, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” The clear distinction that a man is a disciple of Christ, is that he loves God and loves his fellow brothers as the Lord points out in John 13 v 35, “By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” A life of love is the highest calling. It is in loving God and loving our fellow brothers that we completely fulfil God’s will. 1 Corinthians 13 sums this up very well. When love motivates you, you will forego all desire for personal gratification and seek the welfare of others to the glory of God. When love motivates you, you will be prepared to give up your life for the sake of others as it is written in 1 John 3 v 16, “Hereby perceive we the love [of God,] because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren.” This dear reader is the mainstay of being a Christian. For if all of the other principles are to bear fruit, you ought to love otherwise you do them in vain. Even God when He empowers you, He does so for you to serve others as it is written in 1 Corinthians 12 v 7, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” Therefore as it is written in Romans 12 v 1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.”

Conclusion
To conclude, the 7 principles of God’s work ethic teach us that God is calling us to obedience, faith, holiness, repentance, witness, surrender and love which lead us to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit as it is written in Matthew 12 v 33, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by [his] fruit.” Galatians 5 v 22-23 lists the fruit as such, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” When we live by these principles, we produce fruit in keeping with repentance. God bless you.