DISTRACTED

                I sat across the table from my friend, as we conversed over our breakfast. We meet every week at the same spot, on the same day. It has become a regular part of my routine. Directly behind my friend, at a little distance, is a large, flat-screen TV. It pumps out vivid images of sporting events. The screen is always in motion. Usually, sometime during our breakfast, the screen displays the top ten sports moments of the week. I know this because, even though my purpose in being in that place is to meet with my friend, I cannot help but be distracted by enticing images flashing on the screen just over his right shoulder.

                We have all encountered this attack on our senses. It is hard to find a restaurant today that does not have a TV mounted high on the wall, demanding our attention. For some reason, we have accepted this assault as normal. Yet, most of the time, it distracts us from focusing on the people with whom we came to spend time. I had a friend who struggled with depression. When we would meet for lunch, he would position himself in such a way as to not be able to see the TV. The distraction was just too much for him. Often, when we have gone to dinner as a family, I have found myself captured by the silent picture show emanating from the ever present TV screen. I have to work very hard to remain present with those around the table. I am not alone. The other day, I excused myself from the table to visit the restroom. On my way, I passed a young man sitting at another table. He was intently gazing upward, mouth slightly open, oblivious to all that was going on around him.

                Life is filled with distractions. Not just TV screens in restaurants. We are distracted by our iPads, iPods, video games, fantasy football leagues, basketball pools, and the list can go on. In themselves, these things are not bad, but they tend to grab our attention and distract us from what is really important. There is a commercial for a new smart phone that shows a woman at work marveling over her ability to text and watch movies at the same time. Her coworker reminds her that the phone was intended to help her do her work better.

                Using seemingly harmless things to distract us is a favorite tactic of Satan’s. He will do anything that he can to keep us from taking our faith seriously. We have just begun a Bible reading program at our church. The goal is to read the entire New Testament in eight weeks. In order to accomplish this, we just need to read for about 30 minutes a day, five days a week. That is the time it takes to watch one sitcom on TV. Ironically, we struggle to carve out 30 minutes to read the Bible, when we willing spend several hours in the evening watching the latest reality shows.

                The Bible warns us that we need to be alert to Satan’s attempts to distract us from what is really important. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns us about being distracted by the enticements of the material world. It is very easy for us to put too much importance on material possessions and forget about serving Christ and others. We live in a world that tells us to grab as much as we can, and hold onto it as tightly as possible. Jesus tells us that we need to be generous with what we have and hold onto it loosely.

                        "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)

                One of the ways Satan distracts us is by convincing us that we have nothing to be concerned about. We just need to take life as it comes, live for the day, and don’t worry about tomorrow. Although the Bible also tells us not to worry about tomorrow, it also tells us to be realistic about how we live our lives today. Satan wants us to waste the time we have. God wants us to make the most of the time we have.

                        Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9 (NIV)

                Satan will do anything that he can to steal your attention away from the things that really matter. Don’t give in. Distractions are just that, distractions. In the end, they have little value. Keep your focus in the right place.

                Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)