Activity & Productivity
Imagine if you saw me removing snow from my driveway with a spoon- you’d probably tell me to use a shovel or a snowblower. Why? Because though I would be working hard- you wouldn’t want me to waste my time working at something that could be done better with less activity.
Often times in our lives, especially in the church, we spend our time doing things that don’t produce the fruit we need in a timely way.
Don’t get me wrong- I’m not advocating, “pragmatism”- which is the belief that things are considered “true/right” based on how well they work. Solitary confinement may work “better” at teaching a teenager a life lesson about being ungrateful, but that doesn’t mean it’s better or more godly than being a patient parent that counsels them.
What I am saying is that we as Christians need to make sure that what we are spending our time working at in life is relative to achieving the goals God has given us; without compromise to God’s commands and character.
I believe this is the lesson Jesus gave in, “The Parable of the Talents/Bags of Gold” in Matthew 25:14-30.
Those who worked to multiply their bags of gold were rewarded, but the one servant who worked hard at burying his gold in the ground was punished. Why? Because not all activity is productivity. God wanted him to use the money to produce more wealth- not use his activity to hide the gold and be lazy.
Notice the difference between the one who did what was right and the lazy servant:
Matthew 25:16, “The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.”
Matthew 25:18, “But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.”
The master wasn’t having a “ditch digging contest” but rather a “test” for productivity in multiplying money. The reason the servant was called lazy, even though he dug a hole to bury the gold in- which takes hard work; was because he was lazy when it came to actually doing the work to produce more money- that was the task he was given.
Take a moment to answer the following questions:
- Is what I am living for worth Christ dying for?
- Does my activity in life produce the best fruit for the goals God has given me?
- Am I wasting my activity (time and effort) in the areas of money, talent and ministry with things that don’t produce results?
Bottom Line: Use your activity for productivity!