What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You

Get Things Done

Matt Perman

Blog: www.whatsbestnext.comFacebook: facebook.com/mattpermanTwitter: twitter.com/mattperman

My aim:

I want to show you that the gospel changes the meaning of productivity in some quite

surprising ways, and how this impacts the way we go about everything--ministry, our

professions, our home lives, our community lives, secular work…everything.

So, I have three questions and one other thing:

1. Does God want you to be productive?2. What does it mean to be productive?

3. What is the best way to be productive?4. A few specific tips

But first:

Why this matters just as much as good theology.

1. Productivity is actually a component of our theology

The Bible is just as detailed--and surprising!--in its teaching on leadership

and productivity as it is on more doctrinal things such as the sovereignty

of God.

Yet we often neglect this, not recognizing it is a key part of Christian

doctrine.

This means that understanding productivity is exciting in itself as well

as super relevant for living a God-centered life.

2. Productivity is really the doctrine of Christian love.

When we are talking about productivity and leadership, we are actually talking about the biblical doctrine of love. Why? Because if we don’t know how to lead and be productive in

biblical ways, we are being unloving.

Poor leadership, poor management, and poor personal management are all unloving. This is a fundamental reason why this all matters so

much.

3. Or, in other words, this is the doctrine of the Christian life.

4. There are lots of bad ideas on productivity that will get in your way (and dishonor God)!

5. God intends (requires) us to understand how to get things done as well as theology.

(Or, how I got in to productivity with a theological foundation.)

When I got out of seminary, I was immediately tasked with three huge tasks in my job: launch a

nationwide radio program, run the web department, and manage the bookstores.

I found that knowing theology alone wasn’t enough. I also had to learn how to get things

done.

In my quest, I discovered that there was a lot of great secular stuff, but nothing God-centered.

I realized we needed a fully integrated approach that was gospel-driven but which also learned

from the best secular thinking.

Since nothing like this existed, I sought to develop it.

6. For any organization, researchers have found this to be true:

Great mission + poor management = people get burnt out and leave

(no matter how great the mission is)

So great missions need to be tied to a clear understanding of how to get things done.

Now, the chief questions

1. Does God Want You to be Productive?

Yes!

Jesus demands a return on your life

How do we know this?

1. The Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:20-21

“And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying

‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You

have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”

This is the essence of a productive life: a life to which Jesus says, “Well done!”

Jesus says “well done” to the servants that took what he gave them and invested it to bear fruit.

That’s productivity! We are to take whatever the Lord has given us and return back to him more

than we were given.

But what did Jesus say to the servant that buried his talent?

Matthew 25:26

“...I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.” But his master

answered him, “You wicked and slothful servant! ... You ought to have [at least] invested my

money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with

interest. So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.”

Note: Not to risk is considered unfaithful. Faithfulness does not mean living a safe life, but actually involves doing risky things. A life where you never take risks is a faithless life, because it

requires no faith.

2. We will all give an account of ourselves and how we spent our time to God

Romans 14:10, 12

For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God....So then each of us will give an account of

himself to God.

3. Jesus commands us to know how to get things done as part of the path to making ourselves

productive for him

Ephesians 5:15-17

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time,

because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the

Lord is.

What does it mean to walk “as wise” people?

What we tend to think of first: Evangelism

“He who wins souls is wise.”

Proverbs 11:30

But note also: Productivity is also called “wise”:

“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. Without having any chief, officer,

or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”

(Proverbs 6:6-8)

Hence, we are not to think of productivity as applying only to “spiritual” things.

We are to manage our time well and know how to navigate life.

2. What does it mean to be productive?

Since the essence of a productive life is a life to which Jesus says “well done,” we immediately

see that the meaning of productivity is radically transformed by the gospel.

Productivity means getting done the things God wants done.

What does God want done?

Loving your neighbor.

God wants you to live a life of love.

Ephesians 5:15-17

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time,

because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the

Lord is.

To make the most of the time--that is, to be productive and redeem time from evil uses--

means to live according to the Lord’s will. And what is his will?

Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us

and gave himself up for us.

Matthew 22:37-40

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your

mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your

neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the

prophets.

But we often misunderstand what it means to love others.

First, we think it is boring.Second, we think it happens mainly at church, or off

on mission trips, rather than in our everyday vocations--at school, at work, in your dorm, at

home.

Why do we think it’s boring?

The concept of Christian morality has been hijacked by boring people who have reduced

morality to the avoidance ethic (and, it’s deranged cousin, the boycott ethic).

In contrast, loving others is exciting, adventurous, and fun. We are not mainly to be about avoiding evil, but proactively doing good.

Titus 2:14

“[Jesus died] to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good

works.”

Ephesians 2:10

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Charles Spurgeon:

“Let us be on the watch for opportunities of usefulness; let us go about the world with our ears and our eyes open, ready to avail ourselves of every occasion for doing good; let us not be content till we are useful, but make this the main

design and ambition of our lives.”

We love others in our everyday lives. Good works are anything you do in faith. This is the

Christian doctrine of vocation, which is the foundation and context of our productivity.

Here’s how I define productivity:

Unleashing your gifts, talents, and energies for the good of others to the maximum possible extent, in all spheres of life, for the glory of

God, on the foundation of the gospel.

Note also:

1. Effectiveness (getting the right things done) matters more than efficiency (getting more

things done quickly).

This means waste is not always bad. For example, be willing to just plain throw things away in

order to save time.

Waste the right things so you don’t waste the wrong thing—meaning your time and,

ultimately, your life.

2. Productivity is about intangibles, not just tangibles.

Relationships matter just as much as concrete tasks!

3. What is the best way to be productive?

This is the issue of having a guiding philosophy for your life.

Why should we have one? Two main reasons: It’s simpler, and it’s biblical.

The best way to be productive is radical generosity. That is, love.

Ironically, productivity is not about making our own lives better, but finding ways to do good for others and make their lives better. And,

when we do this, we actually benefit as well. (Often in this world, and always eternally.)

This is what the best business thinkers are realizing.

Tim Sanders

“The most important new trend in business is the downfall of the barracudas, sharks, and piranhas, and the ascendancy of nice, smart

people.”

(Love is the Killer App)

Keith Ferrazzi

“I came to realize that first semester at business school that Harvard’s hypercompetitive, individualistic students

had it all wrong. Success in any field, but especially in business, is about working with people, not against

them….Bottom line: It’s better to give before you receive. And never keep score. If your interactions are

ruled by generosity, your rewards will follow suit.”

(Never Eat Alone)

Jim Collins

“Contrary to business school doctrine, we did not find ‘maximizing shareholder wealth’ or ‘profit

maximization’ as the dominant driving force or primary objective through the history of most of the visionary companies. They have tended to pursue a cluster of objectives, of which making money is only

one—and not necessarily the primary one.”

(Built to Last)

Merck & Company, Internal Management Guide

“We are in the business of preserving and improving human life. All of our actions must be measured by our success in achieving this goal.”

John Young, Former CEO, Hewlett-Packard

“We’ve also remained clear that profit—as important as it is—is not why the Hewlett-Packard company exists; it exists for more

fundamental reasons.”

This is what the Bible teaches.

Proverbs 11:24-25

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,

and one who waters will himself be watered.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he

has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so

that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

Luke 6:35

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the

evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

4. How do you do this?

Put others before yourself--not just in your personal life, but in all areas of life.

And always be seeking to share yourknowledge,networks,

and compassion.

1. Always be on the lookout to do good for others, in every area of life, not just at church. Make benefiting others your motive AND the

standard by which you determine what’s best to do next.

2. Take joy in doing good

(This is Christian hedonism!)

3. Institutionalize the doing of good. When leading and running ministries and the church, explicitly create policies that put others first,

rather than exhibit the self-protective mindset that puts the organization first and sees people

as a problem to keep in check.

How is this gospel-centered?

The gospel is not only the means by which we become saved, but also the model for how we

are to live once we have been saved. The gospel both saves us and shows us how to live.

You see this all over the place in the motivational structure of Paul’s thought (Romans 15:1-3; 2

Corinthians 8:9; etc.)

What will the result of this be?

If you do this in the power of the gospel--that is, not for acceptance with God but from having

been accepted by him apart from your works--the result is that God will make your happiness

his own charge.

Jonathan Edwards:

“If you are selfish, and make yourself and your own private interests your idol, God will leave you to yourself, and let you promote your own

interests as well as you can.

“But if you do not selfishly seek your own, but do seek the things that are Jesus Christ’s, and the things of your fellow human beings, then God will

make your interest and happiness his own charge, and he is infinitely more able to provide for and promote it than you are. The resources of

the universe move at his bidding, and he can easily command them all to subserve your welfare.

“So that, not to seek your own, in the selfish sense, is the best way of seeking your own in a better sense. It is the directest course you can take

to secure your highest happiness.”

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