I think some of my best days are the days when I’m productive — when I can look and see something I’ve created or helped create.
At home, it’s when I’ve worked in the yard all day. When I’m done mowing, weed-eating and edging, I can turn on the sprinklers and sit back with a glass of ice water and enjoy the results of the work.
At my job, it’s a more tangible creation — a story I’ve written or a publication that goes to press.
As a writer and marketer, one of my favorite things to do is open a box full of magazines that I’ve helped develop. When the package comes, it’s like Christmas.
I take one out and flip through it slowly, looking at my coworker’s designs, imagining what a reader will think when she first sees the magazine. I take the time to appreciate each page and remember how much teamwork went into all of it — the many months of meetings, brainstorming sessions, story budgets, emails, interviews, phone calls, writing, editing, more writing, initial layouts, proofs, edits, more proofs, more edits, the stress of a looming deadline, the wonder of “will it all come together?,” and finally, the relief of sending it to the printer.
In Genesis 1, we see God at the beginning of Creation — building the world, organizing everything, tweaking things to make them “just right.” The earth, the sky, the sun and the moon, the animals, and then humankind.
After six full days of world-building work, Genesis 1:31 states:
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning–the sixth day.
I picture God, like a model railroader, putting the last intricate piece of a vast display into place and flipping the switch to see his creation come to life. Then, as it begins to move, he sits back and watches in delight. “Very good,” he says.
It’s important to use our God-given talents to do our best work. It’s okay to delight in our work, to praise God, and celebrate the results.
How does your church celebrate productivity and delight in doing “very good” work for the kingdom?
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Read and share these tips on how to showcase the artists in your congregation!