The truth about Hustle Culture runs deeper than modern day “grinding”…
Just because hustling produces “success” in the eyes of the world, that doesn’t mean that it is good or in the perfect will of God for your life…and it most certainly doesn’t mean that it’ll fill the void deep down.
In Genesis 2:17-18, God never said that Adam and Eve couldn’t eat fruits…no, He said you can eat of every fruit of the garden, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for in that day you shall eat of it, you shall surely die.
Notice something…God’s rules didn’t say don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil “just because”. No, He said “for in the day you shall eat of it, you shall surely die.” God’s rules are in place not as a restriction on freedom, but really to protect us from death.
It’s like one giant warning sign that says “WARNING! DO NOT ENTER, DANGER AHEAD”. And yet, satan, knowing that he rules over the things of this world (for now), twists the narrative, telling you that obedience will have you living as a slave.
When in reality, by living in sin, you are a slave to sin (John 8:34) and a slave to satan.
Notice how you keep repeating cycles? Notice how you keep ending up in the same situations with the same person? Notice how no matter how many night outs you have, you will always be looking for the next adventure to “fill you”? Us humans have become placated with “this is how life is meant to be…we’re just meant to be finding the moments in life that bring us happiness”.
Well, I’m here to tell you today that you were not designed to be grasping at straws.
You were not designed to be chasing mere moments.
You were designed to live a life full of joy all the time…not happiness (which is a feeling), but joy.
Because joy remains when happiness goes away.
You’re probably wondering, what does grasping at the straws have to do with hustling? Or “I don’t even like chasing after “the bag” (money), so I’m not actually a participant in this “hustle culture.”
Well unfortunately, hustle culture is just a substance that falls under the class of idolatry…which is anything that is placed above God.
Hustling is literally the act of placing something else above God.
Hustling can be done in your job, in your relationships, in how you act around others, in the way you speak, and in every other aspect of your life.
Why? Because it is the act of relying on your way, your strength, and your knowledge to get to places, get into rooms, get into relationships, or be seen/perceived in a certain way.
Hustling thrives on the motto “my way or the highway” … and it flows out of this mindset —> “my hard work gets me places, because I put in the time and the effort, this is why I am where I am.”
You see, that “grind 24/7” mindset that we’ve assimilated with “hustling” is only the tip of the iceberg.
It’s a modern-day reflection of an ancient tactic used by satan.
Back in the garden of Eden, the seed of disobedience was planted as mindset in Adam.
“A seed of disobedience”? How?
Hustling flows from idolatry, and idolatry stems from the direct disobedience to the Word of God.
But if Eve disobeyed first (Genesis 3:1-6), why did she not suffer the consequence of hustling?
Yes, Eve was the one who was tempted directly to eat the fruit by the serpent, but Adam was the one who knew the Word of God, and so that seed, carried by the sweet and intoxicating voice of his wife, passed on to Adam.
A sweet thing out of a dead carcass will still kill you if it was designed to contradict the Word of God and lead you into disobedience.
Adam chose to heed the voice of his wife, instead of staying sober and vigilant, he chose to follow a familiar voice, a sweet and intoxicating voice. The same voice that did not realise that she was planting a seed of disobedience.
You see, in Genesis 2:17, before Eve had even been created, it says that “and then the Lord commanded the man saying, “of every tree of the garden you may freely eat…”
God’s commandment had been spoken to Adam before Eve was yet created. Adam was the one who knew the Word, yet he chose to follow the voice of someone that did not know the Word.
This is why it is so important to test the spirits, that you will know them by their fruits…because a label or an identification with a certain religion doesn’t hide the fruit in a person’s life.
This is why it is so imperative to be discerning and vigilant of the people you allow to pour and speak into your life.
Because at the behest of one sentence, Eve had unknowingly passed on a seed that would end up allowing the great divide of humanity and God to occur.
So, Adam had knowledge and chose to take on the mindset of disobedience…but why did God allow hustling to take root in Adam’s life?
In Genesis 3:17-19 it says:
“Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
—> The ground would produce for Adam, but it would not produce sweet fruit…it would produce rough substances, only there to sustain him, but not to nourish him.
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
In the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread till you return to the ground,
—> Till the day he died, Adam would have to push and work hard for every ounce of sustenance. He would no longer be in abundance of the good fruit which God had intended for him.
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
—> A reminder of the position of Adam. A reminder that despite have the knowledge of good and evil, Adam, and all of us, are yet mere humans. There was only ever one human in the history of civilisation that transcended this…and that is Jesus, the Son of Man.
God didn’t want Adam to live a life separated from Him, but, because the sacrifice (Jesus) had not yet occurred, sin separated Adam and Eve from God…and when Adam chose to disobey, he had to live through the consequences.
Because Adam had chosen the mindset of disobedience, now he would be subjected to the fruit of that mindset…and that fruit is what we call “hustling”.
Adam, who once had favour in the eyes of God, would now have to toil for produce. Now, he would have to toil for bread (the very same thing we call money today).
Just because hustling produces something, that doesn’t mean it produces things that are good. And no, truth is not subjective. Good is not subjective. It is objective.
Objectively seen through the lens of God and His Word.
Subjective truth is not truth, it is opinions. If we’re all living by “our truth” then we are all living by a false narrative, because there is only one truth.
So, as his consequence, God gave Adam over to his own mind…because Adam had knowledge of the Word of God, and yet still chose to disobey. And the wages of sin is death. Now, in the hustle for sustenance, and in the consequence of disobedience, Adam would die in his work.
Think about it. Adam would now have to toil the very ground he was made from. Before his disobedience, Adam was not required
Why would God want us to eat of the thing we were made in? God did not intend for Adam to eat the dust of the ground…no, God intended for Adam, and humanity, to eat of the trees in the garden of Eden.
Trees came from the ground. Yet Adam had to eat thorns and thistles, herbs that came from the ground.
Two different things came from the ground, yet the difference was the seed.
The seed you plant will produce different outcomes.
Choose a life of going against the Word of God, and you will produce thorns and thistles, from the very ground that someone choosing to live life under the obedience of Christ, will eat fruits from the tree.
What’s the difference though between two different products from the same ground?
Well, it all begins in the mind. “For the weapons of our warfare are to carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
Your mind is where the battle occurs. And in this instance, Adam took on the mindset of disobedience, resulting in the consequence of hustling.
We see God’s reaction to a consistent mindset of disobedience in Romans.
In Romans 1:24-25 it says -
“Therefore, God also gave them up to uncleanliness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonour their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen”
In verse 28 it says -
“And even as they did not like to RETAIN God in their KNOWLEDGE, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting…”
God will not fight against your flesh, if you choose to continuously pursue it.
The very same thing occurred with Adam. God gave Adam a Word, a commandment…so Adam KNEW THE WORD, he just CHOSE NOT TO KEEP IT.
And yes, this occurred during the grace period, the period after Jesus’ death and resurrection, where His Blood covers over all our sins, if we choose to come into communion with Him.
But God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:5; Proverbs 3:34), and so, a consistent yes to disobedience is a consistent yes to pride, which means that God will not force you to choose Him if you consistently choose the world.
But know this, to choose the world is to choose death.
And to choose to sin is to choose to be in slavery.
You do not realise it, but your slave master is satan and he has a leash on those who choose to live in sin. So, he twists the narrative and the Word of God so that he can maintain that leash of control on you. Because if he’s going down, he’s sure to bring as many people down with him as possible.
As the saying goes “if I’m going down, you’re all coming down with me” —> Take heed to the warning. That where satan goes, if you choose to live in his world, you will be going there with him.
Do not think that you will be spared in the last day because you did not “know that Jesus was an option”.
No, there is no height, nor depth, nor anything that can separate us from the Love of God (Romans 8:39), and yet, if you choose to ignore His love, which is CHASING after you, you will reap what you sow.
Time is running out. Grace will eventually run out. Mercy will eventually run out. The wrath of God is kept at bay for a period, but on the last day, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23), will be the wrath that is imposed on those who choose to live in the ways of this world. For those who choose to keep being a slave to sin.
And no, being a disciple of Christ, not just a Christian (remember, that is a mere label), does not mean you stop sinning.
In fact, Paul wrote, in Romans 7:15 - “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” —> as in, what I want to do, I do not do. And what I don’t want to do, I do.
See, being a human means that we still have a flesh that was born into sin. But when we become one with Christ, through baptism in Jesus Name (Acts 2:38), we become a new creation ( 2 Corinthians 5:17), as in, our spiritual bodies shed off a soul that was born into darkness and sin, and reverts back to the original creation, a spiritual being that is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). This means that there is a battle between your soul (which is one with Christ), your flesh (which is still part of this world), and satan.
You have two enemies —> your flesh and satan.
So, you’re probably wondering, well, if I am human and will keep sinning, what is the point of choosing Jesus? What is the point of trying to stop sinning if I won’t be sinless?
Well first, the answer is that sin = death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).
The second, is that every. Single. Day. We must choose to “bear our cross”, to repent, and to die to ourselves daily.
Jesus wants a relationship with you. Not just a religion practiced.
Every day, we ask God to forgive us our sins and wash His Blood over it. Every day, we must choose to try to obey His Word, not in our own strength, but in God’s strength (Psalms 143:10). Every day, we must choose to be in His Word, to meditate on Him and His Word daily.
See Jesus doesn’t want you to just blindly follow Him, He wants you to have fellowship with Him. He wants you to rely on Him, to speak with Him daily, to live life with Him.
For He is the vine and we are the branches, for without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). Apart from God, we cannot eat of that sweet fruit of the trees He has ordained for us, for favour in our lives. No, we would have to eat from the ground which we toiled and from which we came from, a stark contrast to a life lived in Freedom in Christ.
This means that if we do not actively pursue Christ and choose to live a life tethered to sin, you will die...and no, not just the one where you go to the grave. It means the one in hell…with satan, your bond master. —> “The devil, who deceived them [humans], was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10).
So, stop hustling for this world and start obeying. Start choosing to live life with Christ. Every day, one verse a day. One prayer a day, it doesn’t have to be some big prayer for 60 minutes.
Every day, if you would just choose to invite Him in, because He knocks at the door of your heart (Revelation 3:20), watch how God transforms your life.
If you choose to live in communion with Jesus, not just by mere church attendance, because even satan goes to church and knows the Word, but by actively relying on Jesus. Actively reading your Bible and understanding His character. Actively coming to God with your problems and praying. Actively bringing God into your happy moments. Into your birthdays, into your workplace, into your friend groups…into everything, the good and the bad.
If you choose to follow Jesus and pick up your cross in the active pursuit of Christ, I can guarantee that you will have eternal life (John 3:16). You will have joy, even in the face of adversity (Nehemiah 8:10; Psalms 30:5). And most importantly, I can guarantee that He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). And that He will work all things together for good, for those who love Him, for those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
And so, I leave you with this final part -
Revelation 20:11-15:
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
Then I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.
And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
The Sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Will you be found in the Book of Life?
Choose this day who you will serve…A temporary master, or an eternal God.