But you profane it, In that you say, ‘The table of the LORD is defiled; And its fruit, its food, is contemptible.’ You also say, ‘Oh, what a weariness!’ And you sneer at it,” Says the LORD of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?” Says the LORD. Malachi 1:12-13
We have all likely heard the expression “back to the old grind” with reference to one’s labors. In production work, I often heard this or similar expressions at the end of a break when heading back to work. Athletes of every kind talk about “the grind” regarding training camp or the long season of games in their respective sports. When speaking of a failure in a game or how they intend to improve a weakness in their game, they will often say, “I’m just going to keep grinding.” What, you may wonder, does this have to do with my Christian walk? That is a good question, so let us consider a few parallel thoughts in Scripture.
The original concept appears to speak of steady, monotonous, laborious, hard work of a dull or boring nature. If you work or have worked a job where you do the same things all day long, this phrase will have a much deeper meaning to you. It is easy to become bored, complacent, and even weary of the monotony of such labors. There is often a great deal of turnover in these jobs as people just want to do something different. This is where we find the connection to certain elements of Christianity.
The reality is that all of life can become monotonous. Most people have some sort of routine in their lives: wake up, make coffee, eat breakfast, brush teeth, feed the dog/cat/iguana/etc., get showered and dressed, drive to work (using the same route every day), work the same job, come home (using the same route every day), catch up the household chores, eat supper, clean up, get ready for bed, sleep, wake up, rinse and repeat. Another expression to consider just here is, “Idle hands are the devil’s playground.” Therefore, we must never view our Christian walk and “the old grind” as burdensome. Boredom or high pressure will likely breed dissatisfaction, and this is a prime time for Satan to present the Christian with a shiny new temptation. We must not let Satan catch us in a state of boredom or weariness in our service to Christ.
An Old Testament example of what this can look like is found in the book of Malachi. In the first chapter, we learn that the children of Israel were going through the motions of worshipping God with their sacrifices. Sadly, they did so with improper attitudes and profane gifts (Malachi 1:7-8). We learn why in verse 13 as they felt it was nothing but a burden. Communing with God and seeking His favor in worship ought to breed awe, wonder, and enthusiasm. Instead, they viewed it merely as a burdensome obligation and began to offer vain worship (Matthew 15:8-9). We should be happy to be in the Lord’s presence (Psalm 122:1).
Pressure from opponents can make Christianity appear burdensome. It is difficult to swim against the current but swim we must. Remember when the returned exiles quit building the temple in Ezra 4 because of resistance from opponents? God sent Haggai and Zechariah to rekindle their zeal to finish the work (Ezra 5:1-2). They had to view the work God gave them as greater than “the grind” necessary to bring about its completion. Genuine Christianity will be met with opposition (John 15:18-21), but God empowers us to keep grinding and finish the job (2 Timothy 1:7-12). Like the athlete we must look to the prize and “keep grinding” to obtain it (Hebrews 12:1-3). May we always remember this labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).