This is part 3 of my series on the 7 heavenly virtues. For part I, Temperance, click here. For part 2, Humility, click here.
Oh diligence! If there was ever a virtue that is hardest to work on!
Diligence brings to mind the notion of hard work. We have limited diligence to the realm of work, or that which we get paid to do. We may imagine someone who is diligent as a restless person, one who is so opposite of lazy that it is impossible for them to sit still without having something to do.
When diligence is so interconnected to work, however, we distort the virtue itself.
Diligence is much more than hard work, however, and has applications outside our professional lives, as we shall explore.
What is Diligence?
Diligence, simply speaking, is steadfast application. Someone who is steadfast is someone who is faithful, reliable and committed.
We see then, that diligence is much more than hard work. Diligence also calls us to be unwavering in what we do. You might be able to work hard, but that doesn't make you a diligent person. If you, however, work faithfully, then you are beginning to practice the virtue of diligence.
Diligence & The Holy Spirit
Diligence is connected with faithfulness, the third fruit of the Holy Spirit listed on Galatians 5. Once we have worked on self-control and gentleness, the first two, we have a solid foundation to work on faithfulness, and as a consequence, on diligence.
Diligence and faithfulness are two sides of the same coin. When we do our part, we do so with faith that God will take care of the rest. We know that hard work alone doesn't bring immediate success. When hard work is combined with faithfulness, however, we trust that God is still in control even if our efforts don't end in success.
Like Mother Teresa famously said, God doesn't call us to be successful, but to be faithful.
If hard work is disconnected from faithfulness, hard work will be invariably connected to success. When success doesn't come, we lose the motivation for hard work.
If hard work is connected to faithfulness, however, our efforts will be nourished by the faith and reliance that God will work out even our failures for good. Success doesn't even come to the picture. A focus on success is ultimately reliance on men. A focus on faithfulness is ultimately reliance on God.
It is only with faithfulness that hard work can reach the dignity of the virtue of diligence.
Hard work alone is a counterfeit of diligence. Diligence is therefore, a deeply faithful enterprise.
The Virtue of Diligence for a Postmodern World
How can we practice diligence in our postmodern society?
We start by disconnecting the expectation of hard work from success and reconnecting it with faithfulness. We live in a world of instant gratifications and productivity. We do A and we expect B. If A doesn't produce B (B being success, of course) we then deem the whole enterprise a failure.
This can be true in certain situations, but it makes the value of effort A contingent on result B. In simpler terms, the end justifies the means. This is what is usually called teleological ethics, where the end (teleos) is the focus of any action or work.
Connecting hard work with faithfulness, however, is what transforms this virtue into a deontological ethic, that is, we do A because A is good. Loving our enemies can be an example of a deontological ethic: we love not because it may be effective, or to produce expected results. We simply love because, one, it is our calling, and two, because the "other", the enemy, is still an image bearer.
It is true that loving our enemies has the potential to transform our enemies, and someone may be able to pursue love of enemies teleologically. This, however, doesn't always happen, and we may find ourselves in situations where we love our enemies despite their lack of transformation.
It is also the case that many efforts don't bring the expected immediate results, but they might bring fruits many years down the line. This is where faith comes into the picture: we may not be able to always predict where a good work may lead, but we entrust our efforts to God that can use even our own failures.
The virtue of diligence can also be applied to many social issues: we work on social justice issues even if it is inconvenient and even if it demands sacrifices from us, simply because it is what we are called to do. We find that many social issues, like the welcoming of immigrants, a livable wage, and caring for the environment are issues that not only may have little to no return to us, since these are fights that will probably continue for many generations.
In a world that is inundated with pragmatism, the virtue of diligence can be transforming.
How do you define diligence? In what way do you practice diligence?
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