How to Be Productive
Service link https://youtu.be/tafvIye0Z10
Luke 12:13-21, 13:1-9, Psalm 92:1-8, 12-15
Are you productive? There seems to be a big push towards productivity today. As I’ve grown up, the more and more I have felt like I need to continually do something. Even my rest often feels like it needs to be accomplishing something. We are reminded by God through the Sabbath that we need to rest, but we hear in our readings today that productivity is important too. Except our readings today add a few questions to our productivity - What are you creating with your life? What is it for? And where is it leading?
The readings start with a man asking Jesus to tell his brother to give him part of the inheritance. Jesus seems to dismiss this. My sense of fairness struggles with this, but Jesus again is redirecting us. Jesus first challenges our desire to accumulate, he tells us to watch out for and guard ourselves against all kinds of greed. He describes greed like some kind of animal ready to pounce and devour us. God used a similar image when describing the jealousy and sin of Cain.
This image of greed as a hunting animal is actually a really important one. We know in today’s world that it is far too easy to get rapped up in stuff or experiences. Media and even our desire is consistently trying to get us to chase after the newest thing, or that new experience, or that new time saver or whatever it may be. These things can even give us something for a short time, so if we are not aware, we can even be convinced by stuff’s effectiveness. Yet, stuff and experiences can consume us until we have nothing left, until we are empty and lacking, until we collapse under the weight of that which we don’t really need.
You see our lives, our productivity can be spend in pursuit of things that don’t fill us, that don’t add to the world, that don’t actually give us life. What are you pursuing with your life and what is it for? This man asking for inheritance, might be asking for something that is fair, but what is the purpose behind it, how will he truly be productive with it?
Briefly on our careers. There are some jobs where the productivity and effectiveness are very obvious as you can see it effect the lives of others. There are others that seem more menial and you might sometimes wonder what the point is. These can be places where we are truly productive and effective, but it is more often our social lives, what we do with the time inbetween and what we do with what we have earned that truly shows the effectiveness and productivity of our lives.
You can see that in Jesus parable about the bountiful landowner. The farmer might have had an incredible harvest, but it seems as if in Jesus’ story this is not what is productive and good. The farmer then just builds up to store all of it. This is what Jesus shows as unproductive. It is what the farmer does with it that Jesus argues against.
Its not that we can’t store up a little, but we need to be very careful. As an example, I know many people that are saving up for a house. This is important. But I have also seen where that saving up for a house would get in the way of them sharing, or giving or hosting or even living. We could easily argue that some of this is diligence, which is true, but much of it is also us letting ourselves be imprisoned by stuff and not really adding to the world.
We as a society can easily think that stuff makes for a more comfortable life. We can settle in just as this landowner did and just enjoy life, but the truth is that the stuff holds you back. It makes us complacent. It separates us. It creates greater fear of loss. It blinds us from the important things and so much more.
A few years ago, a youth group and I worked with a church in Roatan, Hondurous. There were many things that astounded me, but do you want to know the most amazing thing. Most people had very little, there houses were hodgepodges of materials, they had no air conditioning, but they had so much joy and life. They would talk in the streets, blocking traffic just to talk with their neighbor. They would invite you over to share with you. They were so thankful for every little thing. They were so connected in support and love. There was even one man that didn’t know a word of English, who after a few days I experienced such rare love and friendship, as we worked beside eachother.
What could this landowner have done with these barns full of produce? How could he have served or built up love and friendship? Jesus shows us, in the end, we are going to lose it all anyways. So, what is the purpose of it all? In another moment Jesus tells us in the parable of the shrewd stewart to make friends with earthly wealth - that is important, but Jesus tells us that it is even more important that we are rich towards God or put another way Jesus says that we should build up for ourselves treasure in heaven.
How can we be rich towards God? Put in another way, what is worth the most to God? You could probably list a few things. We talked about love two weeks ago. We talked about prayer and relationship last week. Charity, hospitality and stewardship are some obvious ones when it comes to earthly wealth, but there are so many more ways that we can be truly productive in this world and with God. Ultimately, these are also they ways that we build up for ourselves treasures in heaven. First, because by practicing a Godly love, relationship and charity we are bringing heaven to earth, but second because we prepare these things for the time to come on the new earth, so this love, relationships and charity will join us there.
That brings us to these difficult stories about those who died tragically. One group was sacrificed by the Romans, and the second had a building accidentally collapse on them. One a product of unjust society and one a product of chance. Death is a natural consequence to brokenness and sin, so any death can feel like God’s punishment or a consequence of some greater sin. This is a little misguided, not because sin doesn’t lead to death, but because all of us will die in a similar way without God and fruitfulness. Everything in this life will disappear and be taken from us, except those things that we have built up in heaven, except for those things that have true worth and purpose in God. We need to have greater eyes for eternity to see somethings true worth. We need to have our eyes on eternity to see the purpose and trajectory of our lives, otherwise our lives will just point towards death and that is that.
To highlight true productivity and life Jesus tells us another parable. This time about a fig tree that has not bourn fruit for 3 years. The landowner comes out to this fig tree and once again finds it fruitless and so wants it removed. You probably feel this as being harsh, especially as we understand Jesus relating it to humanity, but when you think of the metaphor as it relates to our humanity, purpose and relationship with God it makes a lot of sense. This tree is growing, taking up the nutrients of the soil, spreading to take up more space and sun and yet it is not adding anything to the farm or to those around it. It is taking for itself to the detriment of others. In God’s kingdom, eternity and new creation, we are all meant to be productive, we are all meant to be fruitful with the things of God. We wouldn’t actually want to live eternally in a world where people didn’t bear the fruit of love and charity.
In our gardens most of us wouldn’t give it a second thought pulling out a dandelion, or a tree sprout growing in our garden. We wouldn’t wait three years, but God is different he is patient he will wait the three years and more, but what is more, he, like the gardener, will do everything in his power to make us productive again. He will punish at times, but just as often he will give us more space, more nutrients (like the furtilizer), hoping that we might meet the occasion and responsibility and bear fruit.
This world often wants us to be productive, but we need to understand what it means to truly be productive. It is not in stuff, or success that we are productive, but it is in the kind of fruit we bear. How are we building relationships, spending our time, sharing our resources in a way that is making us rich before God, because we are bringing his kingdom on earth? Productivity is not just moving forward, it is actually more important to be moving in the right direction. That is why we must continually repent turning away from death and turn back in the direction of life that is in Christ. Every moment in our lives is pointing us and those closest to us in a direction, let us all be productive in our work and life by pointing them towards the things of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Luke 12:13-21, 13:1-9, Psalm 92:1-8, 12-15
Questions
Luke 12:13-21
Vs. 13 - Why would this man go to Jesus to dispute a settlement? (Moses, Kings and prophets were often asked to settle disputes)
Vs. 14 - Why does Jesus not see this as part of his role (at this moment)?
Vs. 15 - Why must we be on our guard or take care? Why does Jesus make it sound like an attack?
What are different kinds of greed?
What does life consist of?
Vs. 16-19 - What did the man decide to do because of the good harvest? Does this seem prudent to you?
What is different between this story and Joseph storing the harvest in Egypt? (Genesis 41:41-57) Is this important?
Why did the man feel like he could relax? Would you? What did the man think he would do with his time?
Vs. 20-21 - What was this man missing in his line of thought? Was there something else he could have been doing?
How can you be rich in God?
Luke 13:1-9
Vs. 1-5 - Why would people look at these people who died and think they did something wrong? Do we ever think this? Why is this not true?
Jesus repeats, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” What is Jesus trying to tell us about death and reality of our sin by telling these stories and repeating this statement?
Vs. 6-9 - Why would this land owner be angry at the fig tree? Remember this is a time when people depended on the harvest to live.
What does this tell us about our place/our purpose in God’s garden?
Are we ever a waste of nutrients or worse? Does this sound harsh? Where is God in this story?
What the gardeners plan? How is this mercy? How did the gardener do everything he could to save the fig tree?
How does the fig tree story relate to the stories about the two groups that died?
Extra:
Psalm 92:1-8, 12-15
Vs. 1-4 - Why is it good to praise God like this?
Have you ever experienced God’s steadfast love and faithfulness? Do you recognize it day and night?
Why does music play an important part in praise or your praise?
Can you see the work of God? Where? How can seeing it lead to gladness?
Vs. 5-6 - Do you think God’s knowledge and works are so vast?
What are things that you still don’t understand? What are things to wonderful to understand?
Vs. 7-8 - How does this reflection on evil relate to God’s glory and praiseworthy character? Why can we sometimes be uncomfortable with this idea?
Vs. 12-14 - Why is it important that the righteous are lifted up? Do we feel like this is always the case?
How is bounty related to being in the house of God? Why is this an important part of a righteous reward?
Vs. 15 -
