Last week we covered the first area of becoming a financial champion; being a champion giver.  This week we are diving into the second part of becoming a financial champion; becoming a champion worker.  This doesn't necessarily mean working hard as much as it means working smart, and that's not to say working smart isn't hard though.  If it was easy to work smart more people would be doing it.  While hard work is commendable, smart work is more rewarding and a biblical approach towards the work place.  Some might confuse working hard as having a good work ethic and while it may be true, working smart also means h aving a good work ethic.  Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:"  He is saying that there is a time to work and a time to play.  A time to be with your family and a time to be alone.  A time to be focus on nurturing our relationship with God and a time to nurture our physical conditioning.  This is where working hard and working smart start to diverge.  People that work hard have difficulties in grasping this concept and find it easy to convert to becoming workaholics.  This translates into working when they should be doing other things like spending family time, spiritual growth time, or personal fitness time.  In other words people that work hard consume valuable time from the other areas of their life in order to fulfill some type of compulsion or void in the other areas of their lif e.  Typically it's an insecurity of hoping no one views them as being lazy or unproductive.

Working smart knows when to clock out and focus on the other areas of their life.  Paul the Apostle understood this in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 as he stated, "26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." People that work smart have a plan not allowing the bumps of life to knock them off course.  They stick to their plan.  They know how to leave home at home when they go to work and leave work at work when they go home.  People that work smart also know how to use voice mail and email to their advantage.  They have the self-discipline to answer the phone and take the tough calls even when the flesh is screaming, "NO, send it to voice mail."  They can also let the phone ring and wait to check their email without it driving them into an addictive pace of not being able to shut it off.  Being a champion worker is being in control, even when stress is chasing you down.  You are not a victim running aimlessly, but you are a champion with the self-control to make the decisions that lead to life and victory.  Too many times hard workers chase every deal and contract out their willing to over extending themselves to make more money.  Being a smart worker realized that more money isn't always the best decision.  That is why they are able to forgo certain financial benefits in order to stay in control and not sacrifice other valuable areas of their life.

Are you a smart or hard worker?  What are some of the things you find challenging to balance?  God knows that it's not easy and that is why being a smart worker is so difficult for people to become.

There are four keys to becoming a financial champion.  While it seems minimalistic I never said that they were keys that would easily unlock financial increase in your life.  These keys fit the locks to the doors that can change your life, but many are not willing to experience the hardship and sacrifice involved in unlocking them and pushing them open.  Another thing to note, we must be careful in listing off a laundry list of do's and don'ts to experience certain Biblical promises.  It can become a very legalistic approach to attaining certain financial successes.  While I believe they are four very important keys, this list is not an all inclusive list to attaining your goals.  There are always other things that we need to allow the Spirit of God to guide and direct us into moving forward towards the goal.  With this being said, let's look at these four keys and move towards being a "Financial Champion" for God.

The four keys are: