The notion of productivity used to make me think of the book, "The Giving Tree". The idea is that, in being truly productive, you end up giving all that you have, and usually all that you are. While this has been the association I have often held and followed through the years, it is certainly not a healthy practice, nor a desirable one. It may be fine for sheep where “everything is used except the bleat,� but for a minister, or any person for that matter, it inevitably leads to burnout.
A far better concept of productivity is the spiritual productivity taught in the scriptures. This is the productivity I now focus on achieving, relying not on my own sweat and efforts, but rather on the work of the Holy Spirit in and through me. I have, at times, found it difficult to adapt to this better way of viewing productivity, largely because my original notion is the one most often held and prized by the world, a world that has frequently made its way inside the walls of the church. So, how do we remain focused on being fruitful as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit, rather than getting caught up in the expectations of those around us?
The answer I have found, and continue to develop, is that this is also a matter of God working in and through me. I find that I am most able to resist the temptations of the world and the fears of repercussions for not conforming to the world’s ways when I am relying fully on God. I also find, and this drives my will to choose the productivity of the Holy Spirit, that when I am fruitfully productive in God I am also fulfilled, but when I am busily productive in the world I am emptied. So, for me, the choice of productivity really is a matter of whether I want to be filled up or used up.
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