Work Smart Rather Than Hard for the Faith (Edited with ChatGPT)

 

There are two major problems in today’s faith work — the work of Jesus. On one side, we see overworked and over-worshiped faith workers running tirelessly for the work of God, while the next generation is neither prepared nor given the opportunity to serve. The side effect of this system is that it has become too expensive and is turning into an incubation space for the worship of money and popularity. These problems arise because our faith work is operating in an ecosystem unnatural to its true essence.

 

Many faith workers have no time for family, rest, or even for the Bible, prayer, and God Himself. Why? Because they are trying to be like Moses, who attempted to judge every case by himself. But why not spend half of your ministry time — while still giving adequate attention to your personal life — training the next generation of faith workers? Yes, at first, like any investment, the burden may seem heavier. But just like an investment, the long-term return is a wildfire of new workers who will give you rest and peace of mind in the years to come.

 

Jesus worked everywhere, but His greatest focus was on building disciples who would carry the mission forward. Yes, doing this might mean that your fame and personal worship will fade — but that is a good thing, because we were never meant to be worshiped. Imagine if Billy Graham had devoted a significant part of his life to training disciples — how much more sustainable and fruitful would his work have been? And he would have had more personal time without harming the work of the Kingdom.

 

Another issue with the current system is that it is resource-intensive — this too stems from the same root problem. This high cost is changing the faith work from a mission of belief into a mission of resource mobilization by any means necessary. If a million people must follow one person, just imagine the cost. But if faith workers are multiplying without compromising quality, the gospel can be spread at a fraction of the cost — and the entire system, down to each assembly, becomes far more sustainable.

 

If every believer is built up as a soldier of God, how many resources would our churches really need to function? The reason things are so expensive is because we are concentrating the Kingdom instead of dispersing it. We are gathering the faithful into a few focal points and placing the burden of work onto the hands of a few. This is why serving the faithful has become too expensive, counterproductive, and exhausting for the workers. We are working hard — and in an egocentric way — when we ought to be working smart, with a spirit of selflessness.

 

Today, the amount of money needed to carry out the work of God is beyond comprehension — and this is because we are doing it wrong. As a result, when we see the rich and faithless, we no longer think about leading them to Jesus, but about how to transfer their wealth to us. What has gone wrong with us?

 

Faithful workers are meant to be value-driven. What they need is not money or complex organizations, but the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, sound knowledge of the Word of God, and character formed by faith. Once equipped, they can go everywhere preaching the gospel and building the faith by multiplying workers. When the work is dispersed, it becomes accessible to more people and highly cost-effective.

 

In simple terms: we are working hard and foolishly. It's time to work smart.