There’s so much to do, and if you believe that what you do matters, doing more of it and doing it well is important. I’ve read all the books and I’ve tried all the apps. They’re helpful, but they tend to say the same things using different words. Jesus makes a truly unique contribution to a vision of personal productivity.

The productivity problem

If He were speaking today, He no doubt would have talked about presentations, negotiations, and emails, but He was addressing farmers, so His talk dealt with seeds and soil. He describes a farmer experiencing the challenges of the spring planting season. Some of the farmer’s seeds fall on the path and are eaten by birds (Matthew 13:4). Other seeds fall on rocky ground and get scorched by the sun (Matthew 13:5-6). Other seeds get choked out by weeds (Matthew 13:7). The whole exercise feels pointless except when some of the seeds fall on good soil, there’s a huge return of 30, 60, and even 100 times the harvest. That kind of growth is encouraging, but it makes the losses feel all the more painful. What’s the solution?

How we approach the problem

The farmers hearing Jesus’ talk couldn’t help but relate. Who wants to spend a hard day in the field only to have your seed eaten by birds? Who hasn’t seen promising signs of growth only to have it wither out and die? And how can you possibly keep up with the weeds?

We experience the same difficulties today. Deals fall through at the eleventh hour. Conflicts get in the way of progress. And we get distracted by things that waste our time. The problems keep coming, and it makes everything we do harder. We double down and look for ways to do twice as much in order to accomplish what we need to get done. This is what productivity strategies usually try to help us address. Jesus turns the problem on its head.

Jesus’ approach to the productivity problem

The farmers were waiting for Jesus to teach them better strategies for planting seeds. Instead, Jesus tells them that they are the soil and God’s the one who’s doing the planting. His words are like seeds that have the potential to bring incredible fruitfulness in our lives, but often our hearts are hard (Matthew 13:19), and our response is shallow (Matthew 13:20-21). Instead of giving attention to what God would do in our lives, we’re often overcome by things we shouldn’t worry about and dreams that aren’t worthy of our time. Like weeds, they choke what God wants to accomplish in and through us (Matthew 13:22).

What if instead of starting your week with a review of what you want to accomplish, you instead began with a consideration of God’s Word and an examination of your heart’s response to Him? What if instead of seeing yourself as the farmer fighting against the elements to reap a harvest, you instead saw God at work in your life to accomplish things you aren’t capable of on your own? What if instead of seeing the markets, the people, and the conditions as the limiting factors in your productivity, you instead faced the problem that lies within you and the hope held out in God?

You might still benefit from mission statements, prioritization principles, and organizational apps, but when you realize that God is the one doing the farming and His Word is the seed, it takes some of the pressure off and helps you put the emphasis where it needs to be.

I’ll let Jesus have the last word.

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty. (Matthew 13:22-23)

Let God reap a harvest in your life!

In awe of Him,

Paul

P. S. If this is new to you and you think it’s something you’d like to explore, I’ve written a free, 12-week course called The Unstuck Life that walks you through the essentials of Jesus’ teachings in daily, bite-sized messages that you can read or watch by video. To learn more, click on the image below.