In today’s society, we all too often deal with distractions; from children, co-workers, friends, family, television, internet (via facebook, twitter and random surfing) and most recently and devastating our smartphones. Each of these distractions, in excess, can pull us away from our main focus and slowly derail our efforts until we have burned up our time and opportunity. We may think that these distractions are harmless and purely entertainment, however distractions could hurt us from some major area’s:
Kills time
– Time is the one thing we can never get more of, however with Christ our time has purpose that lasts beyond the temporal. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:14-16, “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Limits productivity
– We have limited time to do the things we must do, so allowing for distractions limits us from fulfilling the tasks allotted to us. Psalms 89:47, “Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?”
Weakens Focus
– This is the heart of the matter. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” When we fall into the temptation of distraction we lose focus on what is truly important. At the dangerous end of our distractions we will lose focus on our walk with God. Adam and Eve lost focus of that when they were more enamored with the fruit on the tree God told them not to eat from, than from the fruit they could eat. Solomon lost focus with his life when he filled it with vanity and Peter lost focus with Christ when he got distracted with the storms of life.
This week past week, in preparation for our Spring Revival, we sought to meet this “MEDIA FAST” challenge. What does that mean? We cut out television, internet (excluding work/school usage), social networking and other empty forms of entertainment with the goal of getting our focus on Christ. What I learned from this challenge is how dependent we have become on these distractions. I found myself going to click on the twitter/facebook app without even thinking or even wondering what to do at night before bed. I quickly became convicted in my willingness and desire to be constantly entertained.
Would you take on this challenge?
