I managed to survive through the entire first week of 2024 without making a single New Year’s resolution. When those temptations to list all the ways I was going to revolutionize my life emerged, I beat them back every time. Every inclination to engage that process seemed to be met with a bull-headed refusal to cooperate that was reminiscent of Administration officials being grilled about the migrant invasion going on along our non-existent Southern border. My resolve against resolutions was quite impressive, if I do say so myself. But then, week number two arrived and the matter happened to come up in one of my conversations with God . . .
God Weighs In ~
In reviewing my impressive resistance to resolutions guided by a refusal to make empty promises to reinvent myself, it seemed as though the Holy Spirit wanted to weigh in on the issue. Instead of congratulating me, it was an exchange that in my head and heart went something like this:
Holy Spirit of God: “So, what I’m hearing you say is that you’re feeling pretty good about how things are going. You’re OK with how fruitful you are, how your gifts are being employed, and you’re basically content with where you are regarding the ministries you’re involved in?”
Me: “Well… Since you put it like that, maybe I should take another look and re-evaluate the situation. Any suggestions?”
Thankfully, that engagement didn’t throw me into an urgent, frenzied, attempt to do a comprehensive renovation of my life. What it did lead me to do was to invest some serious consideration of questions that came out of it.
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- Am I feeling a little too content with the current status quo?
- Are my efforts at “sowing” those seeds that Jesus taught about being scattered in ways and places that have the greatest potential to produce the most fruit?
- Are the gifts and abilities that God has graciously bestowed being actively employed when new opportunities arise?
- Are there adjustments God wants me to make that would expand the opportunities for Him to use this life He died to redeem?
That led to an interesting exploration into some areas and practices that are high on God’s list of things He considers invaluable assets in serving Him – no matter what gifts, callings, or ministry endeavors are involved.
No Coincidence ~
As it turned out, one of them happened to be an area I’ve had trouble with more often than I care to remember. It wasn’t that I couldn’t do the things that were called for. I just
thought the extra work it required was often burdensome and inconvenient, and I could get by without it. That deduction almost always led to unwise and/or impulsive choices that eventually led to unnecessary grief, lingering regret, lost resources, and missed opportunities. Virtually all those painful consequences could have been avoided had I applied the practices wrapped in a concept that God describes in a single word – DILIGENCE.
God has admonished His people throughout their history to adopt the attitudes, practice the behaviors, and apply the principles this concept requires. According to Him, there is a veritable treasure trove of positive benefits awaiting those who embrace this term and apply it as He intended. Diligence helps to ensure the success, security, and prosperity that God has always wanted for His people, so it’s not surprising that it’s one of those qualities that God has consistently emphasized. For instance, Moses emphasized it as he delivered God’s commandments:
You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. (Deuteronomy 6:17 NKJV)
Given the way diligence aligns with wisdom, it isn’t surprising that Solomon apparently loved the idea. Here are just a few examples.
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV)
He who has a slack hand becomes poor,
But the hand of the diligent makes rich. [to be fat, i.e., prosperous]. (Proverbs 10:4 NKJV)
The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty (Proverbs 21:5 NKJV)
The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the lazy man will be put to forced labor. (Proverbs 12:24 NKJV)
And in the New Testament, God made it abundantly clear that diligence is a vital element in
our spiritual growth and in the formation of our individual role in Jesus’ Kingdom. Both Paul and Peter include the concept in their inspired admonitions. First, Paul instructs Timothy to make diligence a continual practice:
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV)
Peter emphasizes its role in pursuing our spiritual development.
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. (2 Peter 1:5–7 NKJV)
A Different Perspective ~
As has often been pointed out, God only has to say something once to establish its significance, so when it comes to the importance of diligence, His opinion is pretty well 
settled. The only reasonable objective left for us to pursue is what it means and how to apply it in practical terms. My personal experience with the word has almost always been in the context of business decisions which involved someone admonishing me to carry out my due diligence. I must admit, though, that there have been a few things in my life that were due that never got done. Maybe that’s why the diligence that God calls for is never an obligation that is due. It’s work He expects us to do.
But seeking to clarify what diligence is might be easier if we point out some things that it isn’t. Diligence can involve a wide range of different activities, procedures, and systematic patterns of behavior, but it isn’t defined by any specific one of them. Also, being diligent isn’t a characteristic unique to any race, culture, gender, nationality, religion, or ethnicity. It isn’t confined within certain groups, social classes or those with certain levels of cognitive ability. God offers the benefits of diligence to everyone, and He intends it to be practiced by all of us.
Practical Applications ~
So, if we consider that diligence is more than a spiritual obligation that is due, what then, exactly, are we expected to do? Time with God and focused prayer is the obvious first step, but beyond that, consider these additional approaches …
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- Resist impulsivity. Temptations often involve immediate responses, but diligence calls for looking beyond the present moment and considering the long-term effects of our decisions.
- Understand that our choices are behavioral definitions of who we consider ourselves to be, who we want to be, and what our primary purpose in life is. Diligence requires considering the impact our decisions can have in these areas.
- Refuse the world’s conflicting value systems. Diligence in making decisions validates the values and principles God ordains and those that we claim as governing guidelines in our lives.
- Be careful investigators. Diligence involves asking probing questions and seeking reliable information before making decisions that would require a significant commitment of time and other resources.
- Be the antithesis of lazy. Diligent people balance work and rest wisely, not sacrificing the benefits of one in pursuit of the other.
- Enjoy the blessings that come. God intended diligence to be a pathway to benefits that are deeper, richer, and more enduring than anything the world offers, and He expects us to rejoice in them and share them with others.
We live in a culture overrun with scams, schemes, and con artists preying on us through every means of communication possible. They offer incredible returns on your money, pounds off your belly fat, relief from your pain, hair that doesn’t look like you styled it in a wind tunnel, and most of all, happiness. God offers “diligence” as our best defense against all of them and as a pathway to blessing that endures and fulfillment we can’t achieve without it.
May God help each of us engage 2024 with a fresh determination to do our due diligence.
“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to Tweet & Share from the pull quotes below. Each quote links directly to this article through Twitter.
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- “Our choices are behavioral definitions of who we consider ourselves to be, who we want to be, and what our primary purpose in life is. Diligence requires considering the impact our decisions can have in these areas.”@GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- “Refuse the world’s conflicting value systems. Diligence in making decisions validates the values and principles God ordains and those that we claim as governing guidelines in our lives.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- “Enjoy the blessings that come. God intended diligence to be a pathway to benefits that are deeper, richer, and more enduring than anything the world offers, and He expects us to rejoice in them and share them with others.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- “God offers DILIGENCE as our best defense against a culture overrun with scams, schemes and con artists who offer incredible returns on your money, pounds off your belly fat, relief from pain, and most of all, happiness. He offers a path to blessing that endures and fulfillment we can’t achieve without it.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
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Gallagher's Pen ~ 
Thank you for this. I found you on the Blue Ridge Conference FB page. I giggled at your first paragraph as I took tried to avoid the New Year’s resolution, yet I knew I’d been found out as I read your post and felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit who KNOWS I’m not really “doing” my “due diligence.”
For some reason, it’s been a bit harder since covid, kinda like the Life Treadmill got bumped up to a speed I’m struggling to keep up with.
At the same time, I’m more aware than ever that the time in which I will stand before our Lord and give account for whether or not I’ve done my “due diligence” is right before me.
At the end of the day, I’ve struggled with knowing what and how to “do” , yet this article clearly lined out that all I am to do is to make sure I’ve done all I can to keep my “be” in the “I AM” and He will take care of the rest.
I’ve not been doing my “due diligence” to stay there, but I am challenged anew to get back there and I appreciate your nudge in helping me recognize my need and See the pathway.
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Oh my… somehow I missed this encouraging comment from last week’s post and I’m so very sorry. Thank you for taking the time to respond and send along this dose of spiritual vitamins. From your reference to the Blue Ridge FB post, it may be that you’re a writer, or at least interested in writing and that encourages me so much. I love to meet other writers and I’d love to have more exchanges with you and hope we can get to be “blogger friends”. In this challenging and chaotic world we need each other more than ever and we need to use every opportunity to lift one another up. You have certainly done that for me even thought I was late finding out that I’d missed you. Please forgive me and drop in again any time.
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Once again, Ron, you’ve made me sit up and take notice with your wise words here. I will certainly be ruminating over God’s expectation that we “do” diligence daily in our lives. This requires honest self-inquiry and humility, something most of us aren’t good at, and at which we need to be better.
My word for the year is “surrender,” and that’s a state of heart and mind fully willing to submit to God and His expectations of us. We owe Him our do diligence as it is long overdue.
Blessings!
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I love your word for the year, too, Martha. Surrender sort of walks hand in hand with diligence anyway and when both are active in our lives the Lord is sovereign over all we do. That means that we can be assured that whatever comes is ultimately under His control. As you’ve already mentioned, it’s going to be a tumultuous year, and our tolerance is going to be challenged in more ways than we want to know. In light of that, continue to be steadfast in keeping the Light shining, my sister in Christ. It might be a rough ride but we’re not making the trip alone.
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Posted on “anti-social” media that I just spent the last five minutes uttering “Yes!” and “Amen!”. Another well-penned missive my friend. And, for me, another half-page of scribbled notes. So much “Meat” in this meal, my friend. I feel like I’m getting up from a “Churrascaria of Wisdom”, were there such a thing. Three things, as I need to get out and feed are:
1) Southern Border: You knew you were waking me up with that one! This week in Texas, Governor Abbott had armed Texas Guard (Probably TX National Guard, but could be the state’s armed military) troops stop the CBP from removing barriers or gathering illegals crossing near Eagle Pass. To stop the “federales” from following Biden Administrations orders to “catch and release” is a bold step. Many claimed it was a “political stunt” by the Governor. This Texan below that he was only doing what the people of Texas elected him to do (imagine that), to govern this state, protect its citizens, and to honor the will of the people to the best of his ability. Imagine if there were more God-fearing officials left in this nation.
2) Value of the fruit of the Spirit: Loved where God led you this past week buddy. Something I try to do during that week between CHRISTmas and New Year each year (I’ve been super busy this year and haven’t had a chance to do this yet) is apply “God’s measuring stick” to my life. Sounds like that’s exactly what you did. I’ve written about this in an upcoming book, The Chrysalis of Christ: Transforming Your Faith Journey” and it’s basically the process of applying “due diligence” (see what I did there) to how we define each of the fruits of the Spirit and then measuring that standard against our lives. Like the marks on the doorjamb or wall we used to do with the children to mark their growth each year, if we don’t see measurable growth then we’ve got some repentance and praying to do, don’t we?
3) “Due Diligence” itself: I love the replacement you make here. “DO” is so key in our lives, isn’t it? We can either choose to remain glued to our pews week after week and only show Jesus when we need someone else to see Him so we can appear righteous OR we can allow Him to live out His live through us. If you choose the latter, then you are now choosing to take action, to DO! I’ve often transposed “due diligence” to “diligence due”. My logic was, “If it’s worth doing, then we need to apply the diligence due in preparing for success.” In other words, a variation on the old adage of “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” The problem I always had with that is, “How do I define well? How do I know if I’m doing something well?” The answer I found was, “If you apply diligence in planning and identifying those parameters, goals, and outcomes, then you’ll be able to know if you’re achieving them or not.” If you will, “You apply the Seven Ps Principle.” Isn’t that exactly what God’s Word does? It gives us the outcome that we are to work toward. And if you can’t measure it, you’ll never know how well you’re doing as you work toward that goal. A journey without a destination is a trip, it’s a meandering. Isn’t that what the Hebrew people did for 40 years? 🙂
Thank you for a wonderful reminder that we must Do Diligence in our lives if we expect it to yield the results God wants for us. God’s blessings my friend, and please be so kind as to give your Ms. Diane a hug from me. I’ll be sure to do the same for you with my Ms. Diane.
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Wow, Brother… you sure know how to wind my clock. You got me going right away with the mention of what you Texans are doing about the ongoing horde of illegals pouring into our country. I was already a fan of your state, and this latest move made me wish I could somehow become an honorary Texas citizen. The migrant invasion is one of the most potentially disastrous and purposeful anti-American ploy this ungodly administration has perpetrated on our beloved country. We rejoice that Gov. Abbott has the backbone to stand up and use the resources at his disposal to stand up against it. The response from the DC cesspool is predictable, though, and we can only hope and pray that major changes will be forthcoming in Nov.
But on to the other stimulating things you mentioned. I absolutely love the title for the book I didn’t know you were working on. It’s a really creative concept and Diane and I want a signed copy or two when you get it published. Like you, I’ve seen numerous approaches to that list of characteristics produced by the Holy Spirit, and the way you’re dealing with it is such an appropriate and potentially powerful way to visualize it. Your comment about not being able to measure progress toward any objective makes the journey almost always makes the journey an exercise in frustration and futility. In my own life, if I don’t want to measure progress it’s an indicator that I don’t really care whether I get there or not, and usually I never do.
In doing this piece, I couldn’t help but think about you, since you sort of epitomize the notion of “doing” life on purpose rather than just drifting along watching stuff happen. That’s one of the reasons I hope we get to have a few minutes together at some point–maybe I can absorb some of that along with a cup of coffee. At my age, the idea of actually doing things instead of just talking about them or writing about them has become more and more a priority.
I was having a conversation with God the other day about the issue of wasting time and the Holy Spirit seemed to say, “It’s not really “your time” that you’re wasting? You’re wasting mine as well.” Turns out that from His perspective, when I’m wasting “my” time, I’m robbing Him of opportunities to do what He was sent here to empower me and direct me to do.
But as always, you kick things into gear and I go on and on. Thank you again, my friend. You’ve made my day more optimistic and encouraging than it would have been. And my Diane extends her appreciation for the hug and we’re sending a few back to you and yours as well.
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