Grinding has been around in video games since almost the very beginning. I can remember, long ago, playing the original Dragon Warrior (a.k.a. Dragon Quest) and spending quite a bit of time running around fighting random monsters just for XP. Perhaps I was being overly cautious, but I wanted to make absolutely sure that I was prepared to face whatever enemies lay ahead. I have pretty much taken this same approach to every other game I have played too. I want to go into any boss battle knowing I am prepared. If that means spending a few hours mindlessly farming XP against smaller enemies then so be it. This might seem like a tedious task that could quickly become boring and, trust me, it certainly could. Going from one battle to the next, only to gain a few XPs at a time, is indeed tedious. However, even the most boring and monotonous job can feel very different if we choose to change the way we look at it. Instead of being annoyed at how many more random encounters it was going to take to reach that next level, I instead chose to look at it as each victory was bringing me one step closer to my goal. I knew the path to victory. All I had to do was stay the course and finish it. When it was done, the end result made it all worthwhile. I find few things more satisfying in gaming than going into what is supposed to be a difficult boss fight and scoring an overwhelming victory because I put in the work to make sure I was successful.
Just as art often imitates life, this same practice can be applied to real life as well. We can see amazing things happen if we are willing to do the work necessary to make them happen. This is true in our jobs, schools, or even hobbies that we enjoy. The same can be said of our spiritual lives as well. Galatians 6:9 directly says “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” The grind is implied in the Apostle Paul’s words here. Doing good is not a “one and done” sort of thing. It’s something that is to be practiced and performed continually throughout life, much in the same way that you might grind XP in an RPG. We may not see the outcome of our efforts immediately. In fact, we may not see it for a long time. But, what Paul is reminding us of is that if we are diligent and refuse to give up doing good, then when the time is right we will see the reward for our hard work. In this case, the greatest reward is a deeper, more enriching connection with God and with one another.