In 2 Thessalonians 3:10, Paul speaks about a rule that “if a man does not work, he shall not eat”. And then we read in Ecclesiastes 10:19 that “money is the answer for everything”. This does not permit the unholy prioritization of money, but it is an indication that working is not an optional endeavour; it is non-negotiable for any man. It is survival.
Why Busyness Makes Spiritual Growth Feel Optional
The economy of the world we are in
now is so rigid and unfriendly that, without a source of income, you are almost
guaranteed a miserable life. So, everyone needs to get busy and make money. Many
aspects of the life we desire seem tied to money.
The cost of living is on an upward
trend, credit is piling up, and so are the bills. So, when a man or woman says
they are too busy for God, it may sound a bit reasonable. The visible pressures
of life often feel more real than faith in what we cannot yet see.
But the story will be different for someone who has tried so
hard, being busy doing everything he can, and still the effort at working hard
produces no result. It is at this point that we begin to realise the importance
of a power that is bigger than us. At the point where all efforts fail is when
we start to see the need to seek God.
Does Spiritual Growth Affect Success and Productivity?
Spiritual growth does not
eliminate work, and it does not put aside the importance of making money and
earning income. But your spirituality teaches you a targeted strategy for
building wealth that you otherwise cannot think through by your own efforts. Deuteronomy
8:18 tells us that it is God who gives us the power to produce wealth.
It is okay to work hard, and it is
okay to be busy, but it is not okay to be too busy for your spiritual growth.
Because the strategy for a fruitful, less busy, and successful life lies in the
growth of your relationship with God. The growth of your spiritual life sets
the pace for the success of every other thing you get to do.
Spirituality Precedes Productivity
In Matthew 6:33, Jesus teaches us to seek first the
Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all the things we seek and are busy
doing will be given to us. Seeking God, which is our spiritual growth, is
the key to the good things of life without being too busy to rest.
Learning to grow spiritually when life is busy is a function
of the choices we make and what we prioritize in our lives. Spiritual growth is
not what comes to us effortlessly. It requires a conscious, deliberate, and determined
effort to achieve. The devil knows the benefits of your spiritual growth and
would cloud your life with so much noise that you would relegate the most
important aspect of your life to the bottom.
The Danger of Distraction and Spiritual Neglect
John 10:10 tells us that the devil only comes to kill,
steal, and destroy. This does not translate to you seeing a black creature with
horns come to you; it is him stealing your time and flooding your life with pseudo-important
things, such that you do not have the time for the really important things.
By the time you take stock of your life, you realize that
you have been very busy but achieving little. Because what makes success
possible and the time and effort put into the task worth it, is the God factor
in it. That God factor comes from your relationship with God, which gives birth
to your spiritual growth.
One truth that I need you to embrace is that you cannot reap
the benefits of prayer if you are not praying. The secret to a gloriously
fulfilled life is when you put in as much effort into your spiritual growth as
you put into every other activity that is keeping you busy.
Why Spiritual Growth Requires Intentional Effort
In Matthew 11:12, Jesus informs us that the Kingdom of
God is forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. The pursuit
of God’s Kingdom requires determination and focus. It is so important that it
requires force to take hold of it. There is so much benefit in being a child of
God that your spiritual growth should be pursued with your life. You need to
seek God like your life depends on it because it does depend on it.
There would be days when you don’t feel like praying; days
when you tell yourself you will pray later and read the Bible later. And
“later” turns to days and days into weeks and weeks into months and even years
until your guards are totally down and you become utterly powerless. And that
is exactly where the devil wants you to be.
It is important that you treat your spiritual growth like
you would treat your physical growth. You need to feed your spirit just like
you would feed your body. The Kingdom of God is advancing; it is not waiting,
and so you need to pursue it and secure your position in it for your own
benefit.
2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has given to us all
things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who
called us by glory and virtue”. What you need for life has been given to
you, and so the responsibility of taking hold of it is yours. And this gift
that pertains to life and godliness comes through the knowledge of God in you,
which translates to your spiritual growth.
The only way to grow spiritually when life is busy is to
make a firm and determined decision to put your spiritual growth as a priority in
your life and on your time. It may not be easy, but it is doable. And with the
help of the Holy Spirit, you will succeed.
The struggle with time is not a thing to be ashamed of. I am
also often tempted to skip those activities that sustain my spiritual growth,
and I can tell you that those other activities that I use my time for instead
of God feel very important, too.
But I have learned to prioritize God in my life, knowing
that God has power over all things and He makes all things work together for my
good. What I miss while spending time with God will come back to me bigger and
better.
Encouragement for the Christian Struggling with
Time
Understanding the importance of God in the success of your
efforts, you need to be intentional about making time for Him. A little time
squeezed out of screentime, phone-call time, or even your sleep time will go a
long way in boosting your spiritual growth, success of effort, and quality of life.
Start small and grow it over time, but by all means, you need to start.
I pray that the Lord fights the battle of your time
management for you and gives you victory. May the Lord enlighten your heart to
what is truly important and help you fight against the noise and distraction
that steal your time.
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