For the sake of those who do not know me, I should say that I am an academic first. My job involves reading, preparing lectures, notes and books on topics in my field of expertise. I am also a pastor. That means I have to prepare sermons, bible studies, etc. All these means serious cerebral work.
However, most of the time my cerebral space is under siege. There are interpersonal issues, difficulties with the administration and a whole lot of things that keep invading this space. I try to fight out, but most of the time, I lose.
The consequences are disastrous. This disastrously affects my productivity. I find myself busy scheming, imagining my enemies, sometimes silently addressing my adversaries, preparing answers to questions that they haven't raised yet, etc. Then when I come out of it finally, I find myself tired. Exhausted to such an extent that even when I able to return to my work I am not able to move from where I left it.
One big shocking observation that I made is that the enemy took over this cerebral territory at my invitation. I allowed him to do that. Once I allow him in then he refuses to go back on his own. There ensues a battle to evict him.
After one such battle, when I was cooling my heels in prayer and meditating on the Bible, Ephesians 4:27 jumped out of the page. 'Give no opportunity to the devil.' That is what it said in the English Standard Version. I looked up the word used for 'opportunity' in Greek. It could mean 'opportunity' but the primary meaning is not that. The primary meaning of this word (TOPOS) is 'space' or 'place.' This verse then could be translated as 'do not give the devil any space!'
The Devil is the enemy of creativity and productivity. Devil is the opposite of what God is in every way. God is the creator but Devil is the destroyer. God gives life but Devil steals and kills. God makes us productive and creative but the Devil does just the opposite.
Devil cannot be a partner with a mind that is dedicated to God. Spending a single minute with thoughts that Devil plants in our mind amount to the loss of hours of creativity. Resolve conflicts as early as possible so that the Devil is kept out. Pray for troubling issues so that all that can be entrusted to God and sorted out by his help. This helps us to be creative for the creator God.