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| PentecostalTheology.com
CREATIVE AND PRODUCTIVE – A LESSON FROM THE SOIL
ABOUT BOREDOM AND MATURITY ~ Ray E Horton
I was spending some time at the seeming never ending task of preparing the soil (by hand) for an expansion of our vegetable garden. As I was getting tired and ready to take a short break, the Holy Spirit gave me a lesson, so I came in to write it down.
How many intelligent and creative young people, or even older people, for that matter, would stick with a project like this garden preparation, I thought to myself? Would not most say, “I’m bored,” and give up on the project, thinking “I’m not accomplishing much anyway”? That would have been my perspective in earlier years, with the attitude: “I’m a world changer with a macro view on life, but this activity is trivial.”
There is not a lot of creativity involved or need for brain power to prepare the soil (once the initial garden plan was accomplished). But it is definitely being productive, considering that the end result will be a nice garden growing in good soil.
Seeing things just black or white
- A creative person thinks, plans, writes, paints, sings or plays an instrument, etc.
- A productive person farms, fixes things, works machines, digs ditches, etc.
But wait, ah hah!
Why do immature creative, intelligent people often come up with great plans, good ideas, but never follow through to see the end result? Well, the planning was creative and interesting, but the execution of the plan is often drudgery and boring.
How do we accomplish things in life?
I see true maturity is learning to control our strong areas, and to grow stronger in our weak areas
After the inspiration and the plan, the envisioned end result needs to be so important to us that we draw on our internal resources to be disciplined to carry the project out. For me and most believers, of course, the inspiration, the discipline and the power to carry out a plan all come from the Lord – that is how I try to live and am successful as long as I focus on Him and don’t get distracted. To me, true maturity is learning to control our strong areas, and to grow stronger in our weak areas.
Never say, “that’s just the way I am.” We have the ability to change and grow, to develop better habits, and to more and more meet our potential. Thus, a creative person can become more productive, and a productive person can break out of old ways to creatively find better ones.
Considering raising our children, we are to train up children “in the way they should go” (Proverbs 22:6), according to their temperament, talents and abilities. We don’t force our vision of who they should be on them, although for morality and spirituality, we guide them in the right direction.
We all have potential
If I, or a child I’m raising, or a person I’m discipling, has a God-given desire, the potential is there to be developed to bring it to pass.
In whatever you do, you can be both creative and productive. For example, you can:
- Get out of the box and do something a new way and see if it is better.
- Write down a dream or vision for your life, or just for today.
But then, you can also bring it to pass. If it is not against God’s will, you have His unlimited resources to draw on.”His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3).
A key source of those resources is the fruit of the Spirit present in those who put their trust in Jesus. One of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, which we can draw on in disciplining ourselves to follow through.
For those who are not there in their Christian walk, people can still develop good habits and keep their eye on the vision in order to complete the work to reach the goal.
There are many lessons we can receive from the soil. Now back to work. I will indeed have the garden ready on time.
