Productivity & Pleasing God

Do you ever feel like your day was a waste, despite your best efforts? Have you ever poured everything into a project only to have it flop and amount to nothing? These disheartening situations whisper doubt into our minds, tempting us to give up or filling us with a sense of shame or failure.  

It feels good to create something or do something that matters and makes a difference. but some days, despite working diligently all day, we have nothing to show for our efforts. 

Frequently, God’s plans for my time differ significantly from mine. Instead of a productive day of work, I invite an unexpected guest in for tea, answer a phone call from a friend needing encouragement, run an unplanned yet necessary errand, or deal with some sort of household disaster. I know these days are productive, but not in the way I intended. 

Chronic health issues occasionally hinder my work, demanding I take a “slow day”—my compromise to care for my body without completely forfeiting productivity. I’m rebellious about rest; I know it and have suffered for it. 

As a writer, I feel productive at the end of the day when I add a fresh draft to my files, send an email to my readers, or publish a new post on my blog. My idea of success looks like an acceptance letter from an article submission, a “well done” from my editor, or a grateful email from a reader. 

But when that draft remains unedited, a rejection letter lands in my inbox, or I hear only crickets after publishing a new post or sending out an email newsletter, I wonder if my words and work matter. Was all the time and energy I put into those tasks worthwhile? Am I really making a difference?

Our society worships performance, rewarding tangible, measurable achievements. I fit right in—thrilled by the dopamine hit I feel whenever I cross something off my to-do list, accomplish a goal, or produce a visible, quantifiable result from my labor. We idolize productivity.

What if we view our days, our efforts, our writing through God’s eyes? How does he define success? When would he deem our work productive? 

“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). What pleases God—what he might consider successful or productive—has far more to do with our motivation than measurable results. 

The account of the woman with the alabaster jar in Matthew 26 and Mark 14 provides this much-needed perspective shift. As she poured out her costly perfume over Jesus in an act of heartfelt worship, everyone who saw it declared it a waste. But Jesus responded differently, saying“…she has done a beautiful thing to me” (Matthew 26:10).

We can liken our time, energy, resources, and responsibilities to the woman’s perfume. As Christian writers, let’s evaluate our work through the lens of eternity: Did I faithfully steward the message God laid on my heart and write these words as an act of worship to him? When we write another paragraph as an offering to the Lord, we bless him even if no one else sees or acknowledges our work. When we pour out our gift of words in worship to him, he is pleased—and that’s success.