Modern culture places a high value on productivity, and it is easy to fall into the trap of equating success with how much we get done. This mentality runs deep in America, where productivity can be tied to personal worth in things like work, homemaking, volunteering at church, and parenting. We tend to find great satisfaction in checking things off our to-do lists, but we must remember that our to-do list is not our ultimate guide for life.
Productivity itself is not bad. After all, Proverbs encourages us to work diligently and avoid laziness (Proverbs 12:24, ESV). But when productivity becomes our ultimate goal, when we value it above our relationship with God and the well-being of the people in our lives, it becomes a problem.
Has anyone ever asked you this? “How did today go, did you get much done?”
Someone asked me this recently, and I almost felt apologetic when I said, “Not much.” Yet, this was a Sunday, a day set aside for rest and renewal. After the conversation, I couldn’t help but think that just because I didn’t get a lot done doesn’t mean my day was a failure. In fact, on a Sunday, rest should be the goal, not productivity.
Our culture pushes us to believe that success means constant motion, relentless achievement, and a never-ending to-do list. The challenge with this is that it can lead us away from what really matters. It can make it harder to connect with God, invest in our relationships, and spend time in prayer for those we disciple. Discipleship isn’t a task that fits neatly on a productivity chart. The relationships we build, the people we serve, and the time we invest in prayer don’t always produce instant results.
The Story of Mary and Martha
This is exactly the issue we see in the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42 (ESV):
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’
Martha was trying to be productive, making sure everything was in place to serve her guests. This seems like a good thing, right? But in her distractions, she missed out on the most important thing: being present with Jesus. Jesus gently rebukes Martha, not for serving, but for letting her serving become a distraction from His presence.
This story highlights a critical lesson for us today: Good things, like serving and being productive, can become idols when they take priority over our relationship with Jesus. As spiritual leaders, we need to be careful not to let the demands of ministry or our personal to-do lists overshadow our time with God and our investment in the lives of others.
The Dangers of Idolizing Productivity
For church and discipleship leaders, the drive to be productive can lead to burnout and neglect of what truly matters. The need to accomplish tasks, manage teams, or meet deadlines can crowd out time for personal worship, prayer, and meaningful relationships. But productivity, in and of itself, isn’t the measure of success in God’s kingdom.
Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established” (ESV). Productivity, when aligned with God’s purposes, can be a good thing. But it should be rooted in a heart that prioritizes God’s will over personal achievement.
In the rush to get things done, we sometimes lose sight of the long-term impact of our investments in people, and so we might make the mistake of devaluing those activities. The relationships we build with our discipleship group, families, and church members might not produce immediate results, but this is important kingdom work that matters and lasts.
Focusing too much on productivity can distract us from our relationship with God and trick us into thinking we can get it all done (and then we can rest). But the truth is, we can never “get it all done.” The more we do, the longer our to-do list will grow (reference – Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman). Instead of trying to get everything done, we should focus on doing a few things that truly matter.
Practical Ways to Prioritize What Matters Most
So, how can we balance productivity with what truly matters? Here are a few practical ways for church leaders, discipleship leaders, and parents to ensure that they are investing time in what counts, without letting productivity become an idol.
1. Personal Worship: Prioritize Time with God
The most important investment we can make is in our relationship with God. This isn’t about ticking off a box or getting through a checklist. Spend intentional time daily in prayer, Bible reading, and worship. Our time with God should be a priority, not a task to accomplish. This is where true productivity begins: aligning our hearts with God’s will helps to ensure we focus on the right things.
Another benefit of personal worship? Spending time in God’s Word reminds us of the truth and from where our value comes. We don’t need to seek validation or satisfaction from getting things done, because we know we are already loved and valued by Jesus.
Looking for a guide to personal worship? In our Journey Curriculum, we share The 21-Day Personal Worship Journal, a document to help you build and maintain a consistent habit of daily personal worship.
2. Pray for Your Discipleship Group
As leaders, it is easy to focus on what we can do for our discipleship group: planning lessons, leading meetings, and keeping things organized. But how often do we stop to pray for those we lead? Alternatively, how often do you focus on answering every question in the curriculum rather than focusing on the things that matter to your group and leaving time for prayer?
Spend time in prayer for the spiritual growth of your group. These prayers, though not immediately measurable, have eternal impact. Want more guidance on praying with and for your group? Check out our article on Discipleship Foundations: Prayer and Supplication for practical tips and guidance.
3. Invest in Relationships
Life-on-life discipleship is about long-term investment. Spending time with others, especially those in your discipleship group, is not always “productive” in the sense that we often measure it. But those moments spent praying, listening, and sharing life together are the most meaningful.
Jesus didn’t rush through His relationships, and neither should we. Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (ESV). Strong relationships are what shape and refine us.
One way you can really invest in your group members is carving out one-on-one time with your discipleship group members. These connections help develop relationships and truly make the group life-on-life.
4. Invest Time in Your Family
We believe that parents are the primary disciplers of their children, and the Bible backs this up. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (ESV) instructs us to teach our children God’s commandments: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Family discipleship doesn’t always show up on a productivity chart, but it is one of the most important investments we can make as leaders. We must model our faith to our children and spend intentional time with them, not just while at church but throughout all of life.
This can mean many things, and it certainly requires time. Kids need to see that faith has a positive influence on every aspect of our lives. In other words, discipling our kids is not a checklist, it’s a way of life.
5. Honor the Sabbath
Most of us are familiar with Genesis 1. When God created the heavens and the earth, He did it in six days. On the seventh day, He rested. In doing so, He established a pattern for all of us to follow. He later defined this as a law in the 10 commandments, and Scripture frequently calls out the value and gift that is the Sabbath.
This idea of a day of rest flies in the face of modern productivity culture. Bill Gates once said, “Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning.”
If productivity and efficiency are your gods, then Gates is right. If we remember the words of Jesus in Luke 10, however, only one thing is necessary, and it is not efficiency or productivity.
Instead, we are called to spend time at the feet of Jesus: To rest in the work He has completed, to remember that He has accomplished what we never could. Honoring the Sabbath, attending corporate worship, and taking the time to celebrate God’s work is one of the most practical ways we can do this.
Conclusion: The True Measure of Success
In God’s kingdom, success isn’t measured by how much we accomplish or how many tasks we complete. If anything, God’s kingdom reminds us that we simply cannot do everything, instead, we are called to trust in the One who already did it all for us.
When we can rest in that truth, we don’t have to define our lives by how much we get done or how efficient we are at serving. We can be productive without productivity ruling our lives, and we can take the time to invest in the lives of others.