1 Kings 11:28 – “The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was industrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.”
This verse teaches us a very simple principle: those who work hard will be promoted.
Years ago before I was in full time ministry I worked several jobs to support my family. One of those jobs took me into different settings that required different skill sets. I remember being called to work at a specific location to do something I had never done before. There was certain equipment that needed to be used for certain situations. The people in the know had a certain “lingo” for different scenarios and what was needed. This was a job for people experienced in this field and I was out of my league. The onsite supervisor was a man who was well seasoned and experienced in this field. He traveled around the world performing his job with excellence. He had a calm but firm demeanor about him. Time was money that day as it is every day in this particular industry. He and I had a chance to exchange some conversation during a lunch break. He had asked me about my experience in the field (I think he could see I didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing) and I humbly replied that I had none. He then complimented me on my work ethic (I was running around like a maniac). He proceeded to tell me that he noticed that I cared about what I was doing and that anyone could be taught the skill. He really encouraged me that day and told me that he enjoyed working with me. That blew me away because I felt I was more of a hindrance than a help.
Bottom line: effort gets noticed and will eventually be rewarded. Hard work shows that you care about what you’re doing. Consider the following scriptures:
Matthew 22:36-38 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.’”
Colossians 3:23 – “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”
In our text Solomon notices something about Jeroboam that sets him apart from the other men. The scripture says he was “industrious.” Simply put, he was a hard worker. That caused him to be noticed and to be placed in charge over the entire work force.
It’s about doing things with all your heart. Are you putting everything into what you do, be it at the job today or at worship on Sunday? You will get more out of it if you put more into it. God rewards whole-heartedness.