The Biblical Solution to Unproductivity and Laziness

“Productivity is effectively stewarding my gifts, talents, time, energy, and enthusiasm for the good of others and the glory of God” – Tim Challies, Do More Better, p. 16

Is that how you would define productivity? I can think of many other ways I would have previously defined productivity: accomplishing many tasks with ease, an organized way of using one’s time, effectively attacking your to-do list, or perfectly managing your time and abilities. The problem with each of those definitions is that they are void of God and others and instead filled with self. In other words, this is the worldly way of viewing productivity.

When I began Tim Challies’ book Do More Better, I was introduced to an entirely new way of viewing productivity. Challies challenged me to the higher call of productivity for the Christian: doing more better for God’s glory and to serve others.

While this article is not going to give you a list of ways to be more productive in your day or introduce time-saving systems for you to implement (I think Challies’ does a much better job at that than I ever would), I want to focus on the principles he established in the first few chapters of the book: the true motive that fuels godly productivity—because you cannot be truly productive in a God-honouring way without the right heart motives.

The Productive Person is Selfless

The root of laziness is a selfish desire to do what you want. Lazy people do not want to leave their comfort (whether it be sleep, Netflix, video games, gossiping, social media, or doing nothing) and decide to put their desires for comfort before serving others.

Though we do not want to admit it, how often is our unproductivity or laziness fueled by our own selfish desire to do what we want? You could finish that essay tonight, but instead you chill out on the couch watching your favourite sit-com. You could plan your Sunday School lesson for tomorrow, but instead you “deserve” to sit back and relax by scrolling through Facebook and Instagram. Our productivity is often killed by our own selfish desires to serve ourselves rather than glorify God through doing something to the best of our ability.

The truly productive person is motivated by a desire to deny themselves, serve others, and glorify God with their time. Because of what God has done for them (dying on the cross to give them eternal life) their primary concern is showing others that same love and glorifying God in that.

Consider the attitude of Christ: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:5–8 NASB).

The Productive Person is Working for God’s Glory

Whose glory are you striving for? Are you trying to bring fame to yourself and your abilities? Or do you want to point people back to Christ, the one who made it possible for you to be productive?

When you are busy living for yourself and to create your own fame, you miss out on your purpose. God created you for one purpose, and that is to glorify God through everything you do. “Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made” (Is. 43:7 NASB).

The Productive Person has Proper Expectations

One of the hindrances of productivity is procrastination. But where does procrastination come from? Surprisingly, procrastination is often rooted in perfectionism—the person who procrastinates puts off doing their tasks in fear of not doing them perfectly. Those who are lazy are often perfectionists in disguise; they have given up working hard because they cannot meet their own standard of perfection.

The productive Christian has a proper understanding of perfection and what God expects. They recognize that perfection is not achievable while living on earth, but, instead, Jesus is perfect for them. Now, they want to strive to be like Christ in all they do, for his glory. And when they are unable to live perfectly productive, they can rest in the fact that Jesus has lived the perfect life in their place. We rest in his finished work, not our own.

If we want to be productive, we can’t be ruled by the fears of imperfection. Instead, we need to accept that failure will come and look to Christ, recognizing that we are utterly dependent on him for his perfection and to give us the ability to be productive.

If perfectionism is a real struggle for you, I highly recommend Amy Baker’s book, Picture Perfect.

Heart Change for Productivity

If we want to be truly productive, it’s time for a heart change. Tips, schedules, and systems may help you for a while, but what happens when our self-motivation fades? What happens when it doesn’t bring us the fame we desired? Even more importantly, what happens when we are faced with the question, “How was Christ evident in me this week?”

Productivity begins with a selfless motivation to glorify God and serve others, all within the proper expectations. Without these, our productivity will quickly fade.

If you want to hear more about this and develop amazing skills to enhance your productivity, check out Tim Challies’ book, Do More Better. This entire post was inspired and gleaned from his book. I hope it challenges you and helps you to do more better like it has for me.

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