How to Recognize Productivity as an Idol

Whenever we replace God as the center of our lives with something else, this is an idol. We all know that creating idols in our lives is not a good thing. But have you ever thought about your productivity as an idol?

Being productive is a good thing. We need productivity in our lives in order to be successful in our endeavors. However, when we choose our work over everything else that is when it becomes unhealthy.

Our productivity can harm our relationships with our friends and family. It can deprive us of the rest and rejuvenation we truly need. And it can rob us of our full trust in God.

Whenever we replace God as the center of our lives with something else, this is an idol. We all know that creating idols in our lives is not a good thing. But have you ever thought about your productivity as an idol?

Christians are Called to be Business Leaders

God has called lots of Christians into the mission field by being hard-working, successful business people. As Christians, we should be working hard in order to glorify the God who gave us these abilities, minds, and talents to do our jobs well! In fact, we should outshine others in the workplace because we want to honor God! There is nothing wrong with being an ambitious business person.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as if working for the Lord, not for man.  
Colossians 3:23

However, when we are putting our jobs, above other important things in life, that is when we need to reevaluate. Productivity can be a deadly idol to us as believers in the workplace.

How to Recognize Productivity as an Idol

Recently, I realized that I had been putting my productivity on a pedestal. I would wake up in the morning ready to hustle and put aside my daily time in the Word. And instead of taking breaks during the day, I would dig deeper into the tasks I had on my to-do list.

We choose productivity as an idol when we…

…take a work call during family time.
…continue to work instead of rest.
…skip our precious time in the Word of God.
…prioritize our email over our relationships.

Are you letting productivity be an idol in your life?

The Gospel Frees Us

Our sins usually stem from healthy desires. As entrepreneurs and business professionals, we desire to have successful businesses. We desire to provide for our families, our customers, clients, and our employees. These are not unhealthy things. But when we start to warp those healthy desires and tell ourselves that we need to work harder and do more we begin to replace God with our productivity.

In one of Jordan Raynor’s Weekly Devotionals, I read this,

“And finally—and this is a particularly challenging struggle for ambitious professionals—we are failing to take the time to regularly remind ourselves of the gospel and how our identity in Christ frees us from the need to constantly do more.”

Frantic activity is more a sign of doubt because you think it’s all up to you.

As Raynor says, we need to remind ourselves that we are already free. God is the one in control of our business, so we don’t need to worry about doing more.

God doesn’t want more busyness and crazy work schedules, he wants faithfulness from his followers.

Conquering Productivity as an Idol

So what does this mean practically for our businesses?

First off, we need to set boundaries. It is so easy for us to get sucked into doing work at all hours. Through our smartphones, emails, and social media it has become increasingly easier to work all the time!

For example, if I get an email about something work-related in the evening, I can either ignore it until morning or log in and find the answer. Maybe finding the answer takes only five minutes, but that is when I come across another (often less important) email that I might as well answer and I have now fallen down the rabbit hole.

So let’s set time limits in order to create healthy boundaries.

We also need to thank God for the things he has given us. Instead of looking to do more, let’s take a step back and focus on those things that are right there beside us. Spend time in God’s word, with family, or taking a walk around the neighborhood.

This does not mean you can’t be productive anymore. There are healthy ways to be productive business professionals. The Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics has a great article on effectively being productive. My favorite tip they give is ‘Don’t ignore the condition of your soul.’

Our relationship with God is so important. Instead of working more or harder in our businesses, we really need to be working more and harder on our relationship with Christ.