I am tempted to think of productivity as setting out to accomplish certain tasks (a to do list), then eventually checking them off. The speed and orderliness with which those tasks get accomplished usually determines how I am feeling. For instance, back in North Carolina if I got into the car with Rebecca after a day at work where I knocked out a lot of items, I’d be in a cheerful mood.

"’My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord". –Isaiah 55:8

If I happened to have had "one of those days" where everything I set out to do was more complicated than I thought and I couldn’t reach down and check much off the list, then I’d go home frustrated. I eventually learned to repent from that, knowing that productivity for me is something I put in place of God—I care more about how much I get done than how much I am worshiping God through my life. Ouch.

As we were discussing productivity here this morning, I was reminded that God’s ways are not my ways. If the main overarching goal in my life is to glorify God, then all those little tasks, even the seemingly important ones (like blogging!), really aren’t all that important. So at the end of the day when I kick back and say, "Wow, look at all I’ve done today," God probably shakes His head and says, "Why were you playing in the dirt when I was calling you? I had great plans for you today." So far, I’ve learned that God doesn’t give us a to do list and then say, "Get ‘er done." He has much more care and concern for us, and after all He really just wants to share fellowship with us. While I certainly don’t know yet what God’s ways are, I think it has something to do with trusting him moment by moment. It has something to do with planning my day with the knowledge that nothing may get done, but that probably many other great and surprising things will come up that God had prepared for me in advance (Ephesians 2:10). And through those things God was able to be with me, to correct me, to ultimately make me more effective in His kingdom.

Similar Posts:

• People Over Task
• “What are you going to do?”
• When The Praises Go Up
• Focusing On The One
• Vision Trip 2009: Experiencing A Taste of God’s Goodness in Mamelodi

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Filed under: Reflections by Nathan on September 17th, 2008, faith, productivity