Embracing the Drudge

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. – Galatians 6:9

I find successful people aren’t necessarily brilliant, but they are willing to
invest properly.

They watch their investments of time and energy, they choose carefully who they invest friendship and trust in, and they accept the fact that the habits they invest in now will hugely determine their immediate and long term future. They’re smart enough to know that the drudgery of routine investment is key to success, and they’re mature enough not to let the occasional boredom or discomfort of that drudgery keep them from facing and doing it.

Your decisions today aren’t manifest in your thinking (as in “I have decided to do such and such”) as much as in your investments: the people, habits and patterns you regularly are putting your time and effort into. In fact, I’d bet good money that you are where you are today largely because of the investments you’ve
been making.

This can be said of the physical shape you’re in, your financial stability, the condition of your home, and your emotional and spiritual well being.

For sure, some things happen beyond our control, so I don’t assume someone with a life threatening disease, or a recent layoff, or who’s been hit with an unforeseeable catastrophe, is dealing with these hardships because of poor investments. Curveballs happen. But by and large, most of us should admit we’re pretty much the product of our decisions, including our investment choices.

That’s why I see such a clear and strong link between routine investments and sexual purity. Because when we invest properly, we’re fortified with greater capacity for resisting temptation, and with a love for walking, and living, in
the light.

I will be tempted today, no matter how well I’m doing in all areas of life. How well I resist temptation will largely be determined by how consistently I’ve been investing in some rather mundane (at times) but critical things: daily prayer, daily Bible study, weekly accountability, regular fellowship, reasonable levels of exercise, recreation, socializing, planning, and alone time with Renee. All of those simple items need to be checked off regularly, else I’m weaker, more susceptible, less vibrant.

That’s the value of accepting what can at times feel like the Drudge – the same old responsibilities; same old disciplines. At times they’re all enjoyable, meaningful, even exciting. But truth to tell, there are plenty of times I face my bible reading, workouts, or planning sessions with dread. Not because they’re such hard things, but because I get weary, even in well doing, and often feel as though I’m just plodding along with the same-old.

But it’s that same-old, and it’s power to keep me strong by virtue of the physical, spiritual and emotional nutrients it brings, that’s largely accountable for stability and progress in my life. So God forbid I dismiss routines as needless, embracing only the exciting, unanticipated things life throws me. Routine investment yields a return of core strength that I need to face, much less prevail during, the day.

So long live the Drudge. I say that even as I yawn, knowing a few “drudge” items I need to attend to this afternoon. But long live our appreciation of it, and the rewards it brings. Because predictable investments in well doing bring forth just the fruit we’re all looking for. We will reap, in due season, and due season is due sooner than we think.