Progress That Looks Like Love
Not all growth shows up in spreadsheets
Being in marketing, I’ve learned there’s one language every business leader speaks fluently:
ROI.
Return on investment is the metric that drives nearly every decision. Business owners need to know what’s working. What’s bringing in true value? Where are the best results coming from?
From a marketing perspective, this means constantly asking questions like:
How much ad spend did it take to sell x amount of product?
What channels drove the most leads last quarter?
How long are people staying on our website?
Are customers finding what they need—or leaving confused?
In other words: measuring progress matters.
And honestly, I've noticed how this way of thinking bleeds into just about everything in life.
When I’m at Target, I wonder about the production costs behind the products. When I shop online, I notice who’s running ads and how I’m being targeted. When my wife and I plan a vacation, we research every little trick to stretch the value of our budget (this is a true gift she has).
In life, it’s easy to view everything through the lens of value.
This got me thinking. What happens when we bring that value-first mindset into our faith?
How do we measure spiritual growth? How do we know if we’re becoming more like Jesus?
Because that’s the goal, right? Not just to believe in Him, but to become like Him.
John Mark Comer often talks about how the litmus test for spiritual maturity is love. Are we becoming more loving? Are our motivations centered towards others? Are we learning to love deeply, selflessly—like Jesus?
The hard part is, that kind of progress isn’t tracked in a dashboard. There’s no spreadsheet for kindness. No analytics for humility.
But you’ll know it when you see it.
And you’ll definitely know it when you don’t.
This week, I’m paying attention to what’s coming out of me—not in terms of productivity, but love. Less ROI, more fruit of the Spirit.
Paul said it this way in Philippians:
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9–11 NIV
That’s the kind of progress I want to pursue.
If you want to join me in my prayer for the week, here it is:
Father, may I be as kind and loving as You are.
Help me be aware of the ways I can love You and love others.
Teach me to seek Your Kingdom—not my own.
Amen.
Let that be the kind of return we seek—lives marked not just by impact, but by love.