An effective fruitful Christian works efficiently, happily, skillfully having compassion[1] for others as they produce honorable results.[2] Effective people strongly govern themselves[3] and delay unproductive activities in order to have the time to obtain experience and/or education to be highly productive. This is a true and powerful insight.
Effective people know there is always trade-offs to succeed. Whether it is time, comfort, habits, relationships, or even short-term pleasures. Identifying the cause and the effect of joyfully being efficient with our lives is paramount. Achieving meaningful goals requires tenacity, staying power, and temporary letting go of activities that no longer promote our purpose nor make us effective and fruitful. Goals gives people the opportunity to freely plan and create their own destiny, versus working to survive.[4] Without a vision[5] and the fortitude to persevere people then live the tearful results of losing control over the direction of their lives.
The goals of an effective person/Christian. Goals we set for ourselves are necessary because if we set no goals, we must understand, life can pass us by. This is the beginning of being blessed with wisdom which is the tree of life.[6] When we are young, we think we are going to live forever and have all the time we need. When we are older many think they will do it tomorrow. It is easily to forget there is a time for everything under the sun[7] and when that time is past it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to go back. When older many develop bad habits that steal their purpose. Youth is always the time for learning but it is also the time when we are searching and have the least focus on life’s goals and purpose. This is why to be a wise and effective Christian we have to set goals, a vision beyond what we think we can obtain. Effective fruitful people do not view failure and success as opposites. Failure becomes a temporary delay and an opportunity to redirect our approach to secure our vision. Therefore, setting a high bar enables us to joyfully focus on the victory of achievement.
This is the truth, the wise know it is uncertain how we will finish our natural life, but it is a certainty, without improving our talents, and our relationship with Christ, our end will be much less than we can imagine. The goal then is to improve ourselves in as many ways as possible to give ourselves as much opportunity to be the person/Christian, we envision ourselves to be.
Some Activities that need to change to improve ourselves:
- Procrastination:[8] leaving things you should do until later because you do not want to do them leads to a life of regret and self-deception.
- Time: To win the struggle with ourselves we have to from time to time give up leisure play and/or distractions like excessive focusing on hobbies or social media.
- Comfort Zone: Growth often comes from stepping outside our comfort zone. This may be taking on tasks we are unsure of or reading and learning difficult topics to improve ourselves. This perhaps would be studying after work, on weekends, or night classes instead of watching 3+ hours of social media or movies every night.
- Old habits: Success usually requires building new routines and dropping unproductive ones. Laziness, inaction, and excuses can be the old routines we need to drop, even if we are young. New routines push aside barriers that limit ourselves from doing things that broaden our horizons to gain new talents.
- Approval: Sometimes we have to give up seeking validation from others, a girlfriend, boyfriend or family who stand in our way of being as good as we can be.
The key is to be intentional as we must know what we have to give up and why it’s worth it to be an effective fruitful person. Once we know where we are going, why, and what we are giving up, directs our lives in a purposeful direction. Having purpose is the key to being an effective fruitful person because we are moving forward learning and pursuing valuable experiences and talents. This enables us to decisively overcome destructive personality quirks; like anger, victimhood, selfish motives and/or concentrating on fruitless activities, etc. This is the point where we have to tie-up the strong man,[9] the powerful forces of our sinful nature[10] to win the war over ourselves.
Christ created us anew, so we can do the things He has planned for us. To be effective, we have to focus on the joy of being honest and trustworthy. Trustworthy people give up manipulation, inaction, and talking a good game, because now they are doers for themselves and Christ. Becoming a doer is bringing prayer into our lives so the Holy Spirit can guide us, intercede for us and tell us what is to come. This is when our soul attaches to God’s spirit so we can receive the greatest possible gift. This is when God shares the identity of reality with us so we can acknowledge that the will of God is present in ourselves. This is the power of God’s insight and counsel that is now within our soul. This is the spiritual strength all effective people need in abundance. Therefore, to keep and use God’s power, we must read His text book, the Bible, so the Holy Spirit can teach us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives.[11] Then we must pray moment by moment to further develop our relationship with Christ so we can be His effective witness of the light of truth to all mankind.
From my experience there are three types of people when it comes to their effectiveness. Those who will not, those who can but don’t, and those who do. However, humans can be a combination of two or all three.
- Those who will not. These people do not know what they want to do, defeating themselves because they lack any sense of purpose and focus on self-deception. They are easily defeated because sadly they talk down to themselves, “I’m not good enough,” “I don’t want to” or “I can’t” etc. and then they don’t. This becomes the epitaph carved on their gravestone. They have bowed to the strong man in their lives, self, and gained no purpose because they will not master themselves. They may pray but most do not read the Bible because they falsely believe they need nothing. Then they do nothing and become nothing as they live in the despair of losing the war to control their own destiny.
Without a sense of purpose people dabble, waste time on mundane activities, and many are depressed and drift from one new unproductive thing to another. None of this adds to building their God given talents so they can be proud of themselves. Therefore, they remain unfocused, unproductive and wake up one day wondering how they got stuck in la, la land knowing their lives have passed them by.
- Those who can but don’t. These are people not much different from the “will nots”. They know what they need to do, but don’t do it. They can become doers[12] if they could win the war over themselves. Now they will not sacrifice their time, so they neglect building their future because they have little or no purposeful endurance. They do not have the wisdom of a plan for their lives and without a focus of where they are going, they go nowhere leaving behind the joy of achievement. They say they do not know what they want to be, but this indecision is an excuse they hang on that keeps them from gaining new talents and acquiring the fortitude to go and build their God given gifts. This is why they become lukewarm Christians who can but don’t. They presently are not willing to pay the price to learn, grow, and move closer to where they want to be in this life and in the next. These are the people who want responsibility and gratification but do little while taking up meaningless pursuits providing them with no lasting skills. Eventually, they lose their liberty to choose their path in life while seemingly reasoning their future is going to be taken care of by happenstance and vanity.
- Those who do.[13] These people know who they want to become and make every effort to include Christ as they do it. They fulfill the scripture, to “seek and you will find.”[14] In other words, they seek Christ and find the way to get it done. They have a one year, two-year, and five-year plan to where they want to be as an effective fruitful person. They never let up, or give up, they just adjust and take a different course to effective living. This person sees themselves clearly as they truly are and never lose their joy of seeking achievement. They possess a strong sense of purpose, and are willing to grow in areas where they need experience, even in areas they do not like. It is then they have the wisdom to be a God-fearing effective human because they have won the war over the strong man, themselves. In other words, they have a purpose driven life. They plan and implement, and see joy and love, while putting on the whole armor of God[15], to gain the ability to sacrifice as they grow their potential and character to be a highly effective Christian.
The key to the puzzle of life depends first on our sincere faith in Christ, then our self-developed God created gifts, combined with character, and tenacity to conquer ourselves, while delaying the insignificant to obtain talents making us an effective person of trust and honor.
May God Bless you this day,
David Howard Foxhole Ministry Park City Montana
[1] Jude 1:22: “And of some have compassion, making a difference:”
[2] 1 Corinthians 10:31 – “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
[3] Proverbs 25:28 – Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.
[4] Proverbs 12:24 – The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor.
[5] Proverbs 29:18 – Where there is no vision, the people perish:
[6] Proverbs 3:18 – Wisdom is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.
[7] Ecclesiastes 3 – Everything Has Its Time – To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
[8] Proverbs 18:9 – He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who destroys.
[9] Mark 3:27 – …no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. …he can plunder the strong man’s house.
[10] Galatians 5:19-21 – …the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; … just as I also told you…, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
[11] Titus 2:12 – It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
[12] Hebrews 6:12 – so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
[13]James 1:22 – But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.
[14] Matthew 7:7 – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
[15] Ephesians 6:11-17 – Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. …