I have started applying GTD principles to battling the enduring sins
in my life. Here is how I am thinking
about it.
The Apostle Paul often enjoined his readers to “put to
death” their sin (Romans
8:13; Col 3:5). His foundation for encouraging this
uncompromising stance toward sin is apparent in Romans 6: we died with Christ, and “the death he died
he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.” So we too, who are in Christ, live for God
and not for sin. It is more than
metaphorical to talk of killing your sin.
The Scriptures and Christian wisdom have given us numerous
means and disciplines for how to do this. Scripture memory, praying, fasting, meditation, fellowship, retreat,
marriage….these and many more are means that God provides the Christian to put
sin to death and develop good fruit. The ultimate active agent in all of these is Word of God, itself, which
is the sword the Spirit (Hebrews 4:12) uses
to expose our deepest motivations, so that we can sever our ties to
disobedience and rest in God.
What I find hard, and what I see in others in the Church
today is keeping my eye on the target. When Scriptures, a friend, my wife, a sermon, the Spirit, show me sin
that is alive in me, that I am devoting myself to, I have a sincere desire to
rid myself of it. I ask forgiveness, I
pray, then, too often over time I lose focus. I don’t take steps I vowed (to myself, to others, to God) to take. I get distracted and busy with other things,
and though I may strike a first blow to my sin I don’t work the process through
to the point of death. This “forgetfulness”
reflects the frailty of my flesh and reflects the state of a heart that can too
easily be wooed away from the most important things by less important things. In God’s eyes it is a serious thing to
neglect a vow made before him (see Deut 23:21 ).
So what to do about
it? Well, the first is to pray for a desire
for God and hatred of sin that are so strong that I need fewer and fewer
mechanisms and reminders to stay focused. (I am thankful that there will
come a day in heaven when I even won’t need to put “pray” or “review scripture
memory” on a to-do list: He will be in
full view at all times!) The second
thing to do is to do whatever I can to keep important things in front of my
face. As David Allen often says, if you
want to remember to take something to work, you put it in front of the door so
you trip on it on your way out in the morning. That is where putting spiritual battles on a project list is
helpful. Here is what I have started to
do when, through whatever means God uses, I become aware of a habitual sin
in my life and experience the desire to overcome it.
- Capture the conviction in one of my “collection buckets”
[Example: “Add fighting [name of sin] to
project list”].
- Pray over and write down the Biblical outcome I seek: “The sin
of [name] no longer owns me.”
- Enter this statement into my Projects and Callings List (GTD
Project list) and pray for what would be the next step in faith (Next Action)
associated with this project.
- List the identified step in my context-based Next Action list. These
actions range widely and can be anything that moves me forward. Examples: @Calls: Call Tim to have
breakfast. @Home: Tell to Amy about project; ask for
accountability. @Internet: Go to CCEF
bookstore to
look for books about [name of sin] recommended by the faculty. @Prayer: Pray to overcome temptation expected on Tuesday morning. @Errands: Buy new journal for focused prayer.
- As I complete any action (and _before_ I check it off as complete), try to discern and write down what the next step will be--keeping the forward momentum needed for a battle-to-the-death.
- As with any project/outcome, include this one in my Weekly Review. If I fail to identify a next step after
taking the first or second one (laziness, distraction, or self-satisfaction
creep in), catch it as part of the review and assign one then. In that way, no more than a week of distraction/forgetfulness
can go by.
- Keep the project on my list until I can say that the
outcome statement is true (“The sin of [name] no longer owns me” ). It may stay on the list for a long or short
time, but (oh!) what a glorious moment it will be to take it off the list. Who ever thought that a check
box on a to-do list could cause so much celebration in heaven?
(Note: Unfamiliar GTD terms can be found in David Allen's book or in this this chapter-by-chapter
primer by Blackbelt Productivity.)
I would love to peek
into the details of the daily disciplines of Jesus to know how he managed perfectly
to keep his spiritual battles in front of him, despite the many distractions of
everyday life and ministry. As the God-Man, he was perfectly at
one on the Lord’s will, yet we know that he, too, was tempted by distraction, busyness, and forgetfulness. “For we do not have a
high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb 4:15). I don’t know precisely how he stayed so
focused and pure, but I know that He is pleased when we use all available means
to kill our sin. After all, He is the
One who advised cutting off my own hand if it would help (Matt 5:30; 18:8).
