Ephesians 5:15,16 “Be very careful how you live… making the most of every opportunity.”
I’m sure you can relate to the feeling of getting to the end of a hectic day full of business and activity and yet not having got done the things you really wanted to. That’s because it’s easy to confuse activity and productivity. Many people, and you could be one of them, are busy without a purpose, allowing ‘urgent’ matters (like answering a phone call when you’re in the middle a deep conversation with someone) to displace important matters (like that very conversation). Sometimes we actually need to do less so as to focus on what matters most.
Living life on purpose produces passion. As Rick Warren writes: “Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without directions, and events without reason. Without a purpose, life is trivial, petty, and pointless… Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.”
Beth Clark wrote: “I’ve noticed something about people who make a difference in the world: they hold to the unshakable conviction that individuals are extremely important, that every life matters. They are willing to feed one stomach, educate one mind, and treat one wound. They aren’t determined to revolutionize the world all at once; they’re satisfied with small changes. Over time though, the small changes add up. Sometimes they even transform cities and nations, and yes, the world.”
I’m confident you want to make a difference in the world, you want to choose productivity over activity. So how will that change the way you go about today? In this season of writing, I am tempted every morning to answer all my emails and go on Facebook and Twitter first – but living life on purpose means disciplining myself to say no to those distractions and instead use the time when my brain is freshest to work on this. How about you?
Lord, help me today not just to be active but to be productive, for your glory, Amen!
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