Now, who wants to be effective and productive? All hands up? To be both effective and productive with your time and talents, at work and at home … would be a dream come true!

2 Peter 1:8 says, “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive.” So, what qualities do I need in order not to be ineffective and unproductive? For that key, we need to back up a few verses. “Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love” (2 Peter 1:5-7).

Notice that becoming effective and productive is not quick or easy. It is a process that begins with faith, believing in and choosing to live for Jesus. With faith and obedience to the Holy Spirit, our actions and words, or our character, begin to improve. As we apply spiritual knowledge, we gain self-control which helps us to persevere through difficult times. The next virtue, godliness, sounds virtually impossible until we know its meaning. Godliness for believers means being aware of God’s presence in our lives which in turn, effects how we treat others, mirroring how we want to be treated. The ultimate quality we strive for is love, God’s kind of sacrificial love.

Wow! That’s quite a list. Instead of being overwhelmed, like feeling stuck in concrete, listen how The Message translation encourages us, “So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given” (1 Peter 1:5a). The point is begin and build. And like all construction projects, there will be times, probably many, where we have to go back and work on something before becoming more effective and productive. Remember, the Master Builder lives in us and is transforming us. We are each His project under construction.