I’m thankful that scripture records for us the events in Gethsemane. We see Christ in sorrow and pain, praying and crying.
Every word of the gospels inspires us with Jesus’s strength and holiness. But these precious moments of despair show us that temptation is not the same as sin, that fatigue is not the same as surrender.
This scene of Christ’s struggle shows us it’s alright for us to struggle. And this shows us how to pursue discipline in a Christ-like way.
You undoubtedly struggle with procrastination. It seems as common to the human condition as breathing.
Scripture tells us it’s foolish, time management experts tell us it’s wasteful, and even our own common sense tells us it’s something to be avoided. But yet we still scratch that procrastination itch.
We don’t need more guilt trips. We don’t need more motivational posters. We need real solutions.
That’s why I’m excited today to announce the release of my new (and free) ebook, Your Procrastination Solution.
In the scriptures, we find many motivations to flee sin and to do good.
We can be driven, for instance, by a desire to avoid eternal wrath, to pursue heavenly reward, to steer clear of the earthly consequences of our sin, or to express our love of Christ.
All of these are great motivators, and it’s an act of mercy from God to give us reason upon reason to live holy lives.
But psychological research has shown that perhaps one scriptural basis for righteousness may be particularly powerful – especially as it relates to mundane, every day tasks.
I have a friend who is a former world-class athlete. According to him, in his prime he was pound-for-pound the strongest man who had ever lived – and he has the world records to prove it.
Now he trains NFL players, top-level college athletes, Olympic hopefuls, and high performers in a variety of sports.
The one thing that my friend stresses as the key to success – the one thing that really separates the elite from the rest – is not talent, knowledge, or even hard work.
It’s mastering the mundane.
Imagine the misery of intense financial stress coming into your life suddenly one day. Quickly, unseen, and powerfully.
Because that’s the warning that Proverbs has concerning the sluggard: “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”
The results of laziness shouldn’t be a surprise, but yet they sneak up on the sluggard. And not because of one intense act on his part but the culmination of many little acts of sloth.
And this got me thinking. What’s the difference between rest and what the sluggard does? Didn’t Jesus rest? How do I know if I’m being a sluggard? How do I know if I’m inching my way slowly toward poverty, want, and a wasted life?
I don’t know how it is where you live, but down in the South we regularly ask people how they’re doing. It’s a combination of politeness and unthinking tradition, and the answers are usually just as automatic.
“Really busy” is a reply I often hear. I normally respond with something like: “Busy’s good. Busy pays the bills.” It’s a light-hearted attempt at helping people focus on the positive.
But there is some truth to my joke. Busyness isn’t really the enemy we think it is.
The word “accountability” puts a bad taste in the mouths of many Christians.
It makes us think of accountability groups, which can not only be awkward but are often havens of legalism. Self-directed personal accountability is often lumped in with this and suffers from these same issues.
But I think that most people don’t understand the beauty and the purpose of accountability.
Accountability is not about punishing yourself. Accountability is not about motivating good behavior by making bad behavior as guilt-inducing as possible.
Instead, accountability is about seeing yourself correctly – it’s your chance to see the truth.
The most crucial pillar of productivity is not the system you use, the tricks that help you focus, or the way you schedule your day around your energy levels.
It’s in seeing the truth and letting the truth drive you.
And the truth is that the Christian life should be one characterized by joy. So, too, with our productivity. We should strive to do as much good as we can because we have such abounding joy and crave to have even more.
As Christians, our motivation is crucial. The difference between righteousness and evil is often not what we do but why we do it.
Furthermore, we have a tremendous ability to deceive ourselves. It takes a lot of honesty to look deep within and see that your motivations are off.
And I see a typical pattern emerging again and again – particularly in regards to productivity and time management. I know that I fall victim to this so often.
I call it “Feel-Focus Syndrome.”
I’ve been writing a lot about something that’s been on my mind and heart: that wasting time is a sin. It’s critical that we realize the extent of our sin and take it seriously.
Yet, too much of this focus leaves us with a skewed perspective.