Sometimes I think it becomes far too easy to be distracted and preoccupied with thoughts about wanting to be productive and effective rather than to just put our hand to the work.
What I mean is this: we spend time analyzing our work, we think about and discuss our mission, vision and goals, we critique ourselves and try to determine if we measure up. In the meanwhile we have spent a great deal of time, energy and effort trying to see if we are doing the job instead of taking that same time, energy and effort and putting it into loving people and telling the gospel story.
There is of course a time and place for evaluating our work to make sure that we aren’t spinning our wheels, but sometimes we end up having analysis paralysis or get stuck striving for perfection or even in the comparison trap, when instead if we just put our plow to the ground and started in we might just find it doesn’t take long to see progress.
So what should we be doing instead of analyzing, worrying, comparing or perfecting our work?
- We should call someone today
- We should visit someone today
- We should write a note/letter/card to someone today
- We should pray today for others and for the needs we know God alone can handle
- We should read the Bible, memorize it, meditate upon it and then share it with others
- We should help someone today
- We should look for opportunities to encourage and cheer people on
- We should be thankful for what we have
- We should look for opportunities to be generous and sacrificial
Of course the list could go on, but you get the point. As CSLewis once said: “Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him”.
Don’t fret about whether you are being effective and productive, get busy talking to people, sharing the gospel, loving and serving and you will soon enough realize that you are have been effective and productive!
Remember too this Scripture: 2 Peter 1:5-8 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Emphasis Added)
Pastor Encouragement 