The 3 Big Distractions
Jesus was so smart. From a first century world with no TV or technology, He spoke into our lives and put His finger on exactly 3 things that take us away from His Presence and peace.
From Mark 4, verse 19 . . .
“but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
The worries of this life – Worry is when we visualize something in the future we can’t control and assume it’s going to turn out badly. There’s no way we can know the outcome in advance but we can’t let it go. Things ‘of this life’ include our job prospects (present and future), how our kids will turn out, financial security, the status of our health and future healthcare for ourselves and our families, what the Russians are doing, terrorists, the plight of the poor, the future of the church, climate change and more.
The deceitfulness of wealth – Deceit happens when someone or something leads you to believe something that’s not really true. People who aren’t wealthy are deceived into thinking money will solve all their problems. People who are wealthy are deceived into thinking money provides security. Ultimately, they come to realize that it doesn’t. Look at the list of ‘worries of this life’ above and see how few can be resolved with money.
The desires for other things – Humans can only think about one thing at a time. “Multi-tasking” is an illusion. We ‘perceived’ it into existence because some of us can switch from one thing to another faster than others. When we start to think about God, our brains are swamped with ‘other things’, often things we want. The meeting to go well, the new boat we’ve been shopping for, vacation plans to fall into place, the new smartphone that’s coming out, the date night you’ve planned for Saturday. Our minds flit around like a steel ball in a pinball machine.
It’s not that these things are bad in and of themselves. But they ‘choke the word’ in us. (I’d spell it ‘Word’ now-a-days). Jesus is the Word. The Word lives in and through us, but when stuff distract us . . . when the thorns get our first attention, Jesus gets shoved to the back of our minds and we’re not fruitful. Outwardly, we’re no longer living a life that compels the curious ‘outsider’ toward ‘Jesus’ in us because He’s not evident. Inwardly, unfruitful says (to me) the fruit of the spirit . . . love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are replaced by worry, greed, frustration, confusion, impatience, anger, envy and exhaustion.
The answer is simple. I didn’t say easy.
Simple.
Invite Him into everything. Right up front. Catch yourself worrying about something? Pray. Give it over to Him and move on to the next thing you need to do. When your mind wanders over to money, thank Him for what you have and ask Him for provision, wisdom, patience, and faith. Dreaming about things you want? Bring your mind back to Jesus and turn your dream into a prayer. Make the ‘ask’ and thank Him for listening. Then move on.
“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3 NKJV
Question: Jesus is the answer to peace and meaning in life. Will you use distractions as reminders to turn your thoughts back to Him? Tell us here
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Responses (1)
I appreciate the way your framed this Regi. When I’m away from his Presence, which is sadly most of the time, I’ve managed to get focused on one of these three distractions. A live that compels is a life the dwells.
Your solution is spot on too. Simple, yet requiring vigilant seeking and watching empowered by grace and refusing to allow our real purpose to be thwarted. Gently reminding me who the servant is and redirecting my attention to Zaccheaus and Blind Bartimaeus and and my enemy and the unlovable. None of whom do my blind eyes and deaf ears otherwise observe.