“I’ve become skeptical that biblical productivity is a helpful or necessary genre.”

Bowman laments how various Christian authors seek to apply Scripture to the issues of time management and productivity. I agree with him that there are some "usual suspects" who regularly misuse Scripture to make their point. As Haddon Robinson has famously written, "More heresy is preached in application than in Bible exegesis."

That said, with any application of Scripture, there are levels of authority that the application has based on how far down the ladder of abstraction someone has to go in the application. As long as the author is being faithful to the text and honest with his readers, he can make an application that is probable or even possible. However, he can't make a possible application of the text and assert it has the same authority as a necessary application of the text.

Example:

"Thou shalt not commit adultery"

Necessary application: Don't have sex with someone other than your spouse.

Probable application: Don't watch pornography or movies that depict sexual intercourse.

Possible application: Follow the Billy Graham rule.

Improbable application: Never go to lunch with someone of the opposite sex who isn't related to you.

Impossible application: Never look at or speak to someone of the opposite sex.

I can see a mandate for work--"if a man will not work, neither shall he eat"--and I can see a Biblical mandate for courtesy dictating a number of basic housekeeping rules like "clear your place at table" (obviously depends on culture, etc..), but what strikes me in Matthew 20 is that it almost seems like our first responsibility is to come to the market square to let our Lord decide what we will do.

Otherwise, I think that Christian service, as well as the degree to which one works hard during the week, ought to be a matter of prayer, circumstances, and more. I don't believe it glorifies God to be idle, and conversely I don't believe it honors Got to wear ourselves out in a hurry in our work or ministry.

I believe that Scripture calls us to be productive. There are certainly other Bible principles that push us against that. We are called to rest. We are called to enjoy God's gifts. etc. etc. If you push /be productive/ too far, you're a work-a-holic. There's probably something bad at the end of pushing every principle too far.

This article seems off.

Here's a book coming soon:

https://www.crossway.org/books/make-the-most-of-your-productivity-tpb/