Don't Work in the Dark (2 of 3)

Details: Created: Thursday, 12 October 2006 17:56; Written by Tom Lipp

Often people look for a magic solution to their financial problems but refuse to change personal work habits.

That’s a big mistake.

Last month we learned that many serious financial problems can be traced back to poor work practices.

Money without a wise work ethic does more damage than good. The best worker is God himself and He has shown us how to get things done in Genesis.

Our first lesson in last month’s article is to begin with the end in mind. The journey of a thousand miles does not start with the first step but with a good map.

The best worker is God himself and He has shown us how to get things done in Genesis. What’s next? Well once you have the map and know where you want to go then make sure you don’t walk in the dark. The first thing that God made was light. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and morning, the first day. Genesis 1:3-5 (ESV)

Remember that God doesn’t need light to see. We read in Psalm 139:12, Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. The specific sequence of events in Genesis chapter one was written for our benefit. Now, the word light can be taken in a narrow sense of electromagnetic radiation or in a broader sense of information. Ordinary light enables us to see with our eyes, but light in a broader sense enables us to perceive with our mind.

Do we know what we are doing before we start to act? Have we read the instructions before we start assembling the kit? What a bizarre concept: Read the instructions. God spent the entire first day separating light from darkness. That means sorting information from misinformation and separating fact from fiction.

I always wondered why God started the day with the evening and then the morning rather than morning and evening. The text seems to point to a progression from a state of pure darkness to a grey twilight zone and finally to bright light.

Remember the sun was not yet created. That’s often how it goes with me and a new task. First I’m totally disoriented and in the dark. Then slowly I get my bearings and pull together everything I can grasp to progress intelligently.

When I worked for a large corporation I remember a seasoned analyst saying that he witnessed many projects during their life cycle, good ones and bad ones. The successes usually had this in common; they were well planned from the beginning. There was much up-front work done, scoping out the possible hazards, communicating with all the stakeholders, identifying resources etc. Up-front work requires more brains than brawn. For a long time it seems like no progress is being made. The benefits show up later.

Old habits, like weeds, die hard but with God’s power they can be killed and replaced by good habits.Another lesson I picked up from this passage is the benefit of starting the day the evening before, just like the orthodox Jews begin their Sabbath. Old habits, like weeds, die hard but with God’s power they can be killed and replaced by good habits. I found that as I start the workday in the mid to late afternoon of the previous day my productivity increases. Even simple things like laying out key documents is a real help. I believe that as we prepare our clothes the day before, make our lunches in the evening and do other small tasks, when morning comes we hit the deck running and get a lot done.

Next month I hope to conclude this series by looking at the most important lesson in Genesis chapter one on improving our personal productivity.