Written by Dynamis Ministries | July 14, 2022
Do you ever spend time at the end of the day reflecting on everything that unfolded? If so, how do you gauge if you had a good day or a bad day? If you’re like most, then chances are productivity is a go-to measure that you use for measuring your day. Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of England, once said, “Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s a day you’ve had everything to do and you’ve done it.”¹ This sentiment captures how a lot of us evaluate our days.
Our society is driven by productivity and accomplishment. We find great satisfaction in checking off the boxes of our to-do lists. In fact, many of us probably have our to-do list competing with our attention this very moment! Organizing our tasks and being productive are certainly not a bad thing. Some of us have achieved a lot of good, both in our personal lives and professional lives, because we’ve been productive and checked off tasks. When we are using our natural gifts and abilities to be productive with God in his kingdom, we are most certainly honoring him.
However, sometimes productivity can be a distraction. Jesus is the leader of the largest movement in human history. His ministry started with just 12 uneducated disciples, and now it’s still going strong over 2,000 years later with about one-third of the world’s population being Christian. Any business leader today would be inspired by how Jesus was able to achieve this growth and sustainability. Interestingly though, Jesus didn’t accomplish this because of his pursuit to accomplish quarterly goals. In fact, Jesus never seemed too concerned about productivity.
Instead, Jesus taught us a different model for what should be our chief focus: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39). These instructions are known as The Greatest Commandment, but it’s also “A Generous Commandment.” When we’re following this commandment, generosity will be a natural outflow because generosity is rooted in love. How can we not give freely when we are loving God with our whole being? How can we not be generous when we’re loving our neighbors as ourselves?
As we spend time in reflection at the end of our days, let’s use a lens of love to assess our day rather than a lens of productivity. We can begin by asking ourselves, “How well did I love God and love others today?” Reflect on the things we did and said and identify the times we operated in love. We can also repent for the times we didn’t love. As we reflect in this way, we’ll find our generosity will grow. We might even be surprised by how much we accomplish when we’re following this commandment too!
¹Margaret Thatcher, As I said to Denis: The Margaret Thatcher Book of Quotations (London: Robson Book Ltd, 1997)
Photo Credit: Tengyart
