Diligence

Sunday Sermons

Mark Dunagan
09/18/11 - Sunday Morning

Diligence

Industry, thoroughness, attentiveness. These qualities are all related in one way or another to diligence and are qualities that, without exception, by every culture around the world throughout time. It is the reason we enjoy electricity, modern medicine, technology, and all the other comforts of modern life. Far more important, diligence is a quality valued by our Creator Himself, and is one that can, when combined with the other virtues, prepare us to for eternity.

Man is to seek God and His wisdom diligently: “And those who diligently seek Me will find me” (Proverbs 8:17); “Indeed my spirit within seeks Thee diligently” (Isaiah 26:9)
We are to study the Scriptures with great diligence: 2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (Psalm 119:4; 95).
Elders are to rule diligently: 1 Timothy 5:12 “Who diligently labor among you”; Romans 12:8;11; Proverbs 12:24
We are to diligently strive for heaven: Hebrews 4:11; 6:11 “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end”
Parents are admonished to be diligent in instructing (Deuteronomy 6:7) and disciplining their children (Proverbs 13:24).
We are to obey God diligently: “So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God” (Joshua 23:11); (Proverbs 4:23).
Unity among God’s people depends upon diligence: “Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
Preachers are to be diligent in reminding God’s people of His truth (2 Peter 1:15).

God wants us to be diligent in virtually every corner of our lives. Of one fellow-worker, Paul said, “And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things” (2 Corinthians 8:22). May the same be said of each one of us.

The Glue

The more I study various virtues I am impressed that they are all interrelated. For example, kindness, patience, endurance and self-control are all found in the definition of love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). The same idea is seen when it comes to the quality of diligence. In 2 Peter chapter one, before Peter even mentions the first of the virtues to add to our lives, he mentions applying all diligence (2 Peter 1:5), and near the close of this section he says again, Therefore brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you (2 Peter 1:10). What an incredibly powerful quality long term diligence can be in our lives, because obviously:

One single year of faith has virtually no value: 2 Peter 1:5
One day of being morally courageous has no impact in the long run: 2 Peter 1:5
Being a good Bible study for a few weeks isn’t going to give us much wisdom: 2 Peter 1:6
One month of self-control will not help us become all we can be in this life.

Samuel Johnson was spot on when he observed, “Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance”. That is, the real power is not in a flashy start, but rather, true power is demonstrated in a continual movement towards completion. I was talking to a man who was a contractor and years ago a father of his friend took him aside and warned him about going out and buying the new truck and all the new equipment just so he could look "successful and established". Better advertising would be his work done diligently and thoroughly at a competitive price, and the word-of-mouth recommendations are far less risky than an initial burden of overhead investment. Centuries ago others illustrated the same concept with the adages, “Dripping water hollows a stone”, or “Drop upon drop collected will make a river. Rivers upon rivers collected will make a sea”. Truly, when you have diligence, you do have real power. Like The Tortoise and The Hare story, a person born with less advantages, or fewer talents, with diligence can overtake or out-perform those who were given more.

Haste is Not Diligence

It is good to move with speed, but diligence is something more than mere movement or even quick movement. Many people “move” but are not diligent. “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5). In more modern times, Ernest Hemingway warned, “Never mistake motion for action”. And Thomas Fuller noted, “To be employed in useless things is half to be idle”. So I need to learn to be diligent in things that matter, like guarding my heart (Proverbs 4:23), nourishing my relationships, and taking advantage of opportunities to grow spiritually and help others do the same. “He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who searches after evil, it will come to him” (Proverbs 11:27).

The Start

While it is true that “All things are difficult before they are easy” (Thomas Fuller). Even with a difficult, yet important endeavor, it's best to jump in and do the grunt work, get in your groove, and see it out to completion. “Sooner begun, sooner done—the first and last steps are usually the hardest” (English Proverb). Often people feel hindered at the start of something, and they don’t know where to begin. Here is what has helped me:

Just start somewhere. Anywhere. Take your best, educated guess.
Break down the project into smaller, more manageable portions.
Keep working, momentum does build. “The power of a man increases steadily by continuance in one direction” (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Create your own incentives. Understand that frequently you are not going to receive encouragement or applause for getting started. There may be no wind at your back. But being self-motivated can be liberating.
Understand that in working on anything you are creating future opportunities for yourself, “A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds” (Sir Francis Bacon).

The Middle

As mentioned, the beginning or end of an important task can be the most difficult. For myself personally, I have found that the middle of any project can rather be the difficult part, especially if I look up and around with the dreaded realization, “I am not even half done yet”. In the book of Nehemiah God’s people experienced the same drop in motivation when they were working on rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, “Thus in Judah it was said, ‘The strength of the burden bearers is failing, yet there is much rubbish; and we ourselves are unable to rebuild the wall” (Nehemiah 4:10). I have often found myself mentally “hitting the wall” so to speak, being at the point I pondered just giving up, thinking I was at the breaking point. Here is what has helped me push through:

Realizing that giving up will only lead to regret and frustration. “Laziness means more work in the long run” (C.S. Lewis). The truth is, quitting will involve more work, in the long run.
Accept the fact that while work is supposed to be “work”, yet inside this work resides numerous opportunities of which I would not otherwise be able to utilize. Look for them. Think about what you are learning and what other doors the task at hand maybe preparing you to open. “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them” (Esther P. Lederer).
Understand the character building that is presently going on in you, “The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it” (John Ruskin). I may be hauling groceries out to cars, but what I may really be honing are the important skills of relating to all kinds of people, keeping up my side of a conversation, and staying upbeat no matter the temperature or the workload. “Whenever we do what we can, we immediately can do more” (James Freeman Clarke).I may be simply writing a paper for English class, but what I really may be learning is how to persuade someone for their own well-being in a future correspondence, or writing higher quality editorials one day that will change minds on an important moral issue in our community. I may be trying to comfort my screaming newborn, but inside I may be learning patience and growing a servant's heart. I may be getting up in the middle of the night for a paper route, but may at the same time be learning how to do what I said I do even when my body is screaming for more sleep. Being willing to tackle hard things will bring the rewards of self-esteem, confidence, and you will catch yourself saying, “In this situation I used to panic, now there is no panic at all”. That is a wonderful blessing.
If there is a setback, or something in any given project does not cooperate with you, understand that you are learning important skills, trouble-shooting is probably one of the most important things a Christian can learn—because much is life is all about trouble-shooting the problems caused by sin—coming up with solutions and preventing future trouble.
Be willing to push yourself. “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of ding the hard work you already did” (Newt Gingrich). Therefore, I feel that I have always profited when I was willing to do more than I thought I could do. It is amazing what you can accomplish in life with continual diligence, I am surprised at times what can be packed into one day.
Remember how it turned out last time you endured. Diligence almost always leads to a good end. You will be rewarded. It may not be in the very ways you had expected. You may bear different fruit than you thought you would or even hoped for. But God promises our labor to not be vain in the Lord.

Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017