by Melvin Curry
Christians must try to keep focused on Christ, but we cannot completely avoid distractions; however, we can separate them into categories of right or wrong by the prism of God’s word and yield only to the beneficial ones.
Distractions are commonplace; we cannot avoid them. Most of them are not significant. If, while I am studying, a nearby mockingbird begins to sing, I may hear the pleasant sound, but not lose my train of thought. However, if I stop what I am doing to listen to the bird sing and lose my train of thought, then I have let the noise seriously distract me. Some distractions are far more serious. They can even be deadly. For example, a slight distraction while driving a car at high speed on an interstate may result in a crash. Hopefully, only the cars involved would be damaged, but, sadly, serious injuries, even deaths, might result. Our primary concern in this article centers on distractions that affect us spiritually.
The LORD used the Israelites to defeat the Syrian army, despite the fact that King Ahab was out of favor with him (1 Kings 20:1-43). God had devoted Ben-Hadad to destruction (v. 42), but Ahab allowed him to live. An unknown prophet disguised himself and appeared to the king of Israel. The prophet used himself as the principal character of a parable. He related that he had been ordered to guard a prisoner but became “busy here and there” and let the prisoner escape. Ahab quickly pronounced a death sentence on the man, only to be told that the parable was about Ahab’s own action. The phrase busy here and there well describes an individual who is distracted from what he should be doing. Whatever directs our attention away from an important task at hand is a distraction.
Not all distractions are sinful, but many of them may lead to dereliction of duty; they may even become doorways to sin. A Christian’s focus is to be on doing the will of God (Matt. 7:21), and Jesus’s prayer in Gethsemane perfectly exemplifies what it means to center one’s attention on the Father: “Not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39, NASB update).
Prayer is representative of all devotion to God, but we must consider the possibility that even it could become a distraction from spreading the gospel to the lost, an excuse for not letting our lights shine in the world (Matt. 5:16). We are commanded to pray frequently and fervently (1 Thess. 5:17), but it would be wrong to isolate ourselves entirely from the world in order to pray repetitiously to the Father all day long, day after day, year after year, for a lifetime. We must not allow ourselves to fall into the trap of thinking that not being “of the world” means that we are to live in spiritual cocoons. We live “in the world” (John 16:33) and are duty-bound to teach and preach outside the four walls of a church building. We must be about our Father’s business and share the good news with those who need it most.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter seven some suggestive and beneficial answers in response to the Corinthians’ questions. Although his remarks were aimed at the Corinthians, they have value for us today. If heeded, they will help us better to “serve the Lord without distraction” (v 35). The apostle indicated that prayer and fasting may even become a distraction from fulfilling our conjugal responsibilities in marriage (read 1 Cor. 7:3-5), which in turn might create a situation (one of Satan’s “schemes,” see 2 Cor. 2:11, NASV) in which either the husband or wife loses “self-control” and becomes involved in some form of fornication. Especially notice that a “limited time” is suggested for prayer and fasting (v. 5, ESV).
Martha, who set a gold standard for making the home a place of hospitality, allowed herself to be “distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40, NKJV). We should learn from her mistake not to lose our focus. We cannot let ourselves lose the time we should spend with Jesus. If we become distracted, we need to admit our mistake to ourselves, unless it is pointed out to us by others, and strive to get back on track quickly, as painful as the process may be. Spiritual discipline, especially self-discipline , is difficult (read Heb. 11:11). Retraining our minds to resist being drawn away by distractions is even harder.
Genesis 4:17 records that Cain’s son, Enoch, built a city. Presumably, it was the first city founded by a human being. The people who lived there became exposed to and enticed by more and more distractions. Later, a descendant of Enoch named Jubal is described as “the father of all those who play the harp and the flute” (4:21, NET). The wave created by persons like Enoch and Jubal has developed into a global tsunami of gadgets.
Each succeeding generation has witnessed an astounding increase in technology; thus, we now live in much larger cities that offer more amenities and have at our disposal more and more products to distract us. I am not suggesting that the rural population has no distractions. Our natural inclination is to desire things, and temptation causes us to crave them (Jas. 1:13-16). Edward J. Carnell has a brilliant analysis of the pleasure principle in his book A Philosophy of the Christian Religion . Our desires are insatiable; they demand immediate satisfaction. Solomon confessed, “Whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure” (Eccl. 2:10). He tried every pathway of pleasure he could travel: wisdom (1:13-18); sensual pleasures, such as wine (2:3) and women (1 Kings 11:1-4); music and musical instruments (Eccl. 2:8b); possessions of all kinds (2:4-7); and wealth (2:8). Read the historical account of Solomon’s life in 1 Kings 2:11-11:43 and 2 Chronicles 1:1-9:31. To some extent, we all seem to follow in Solomon’s footsteps. Even if we set moral boundaries, we seem to have an infinite number of choices to make. We get bored with the old and want the new. Soon we become frustrated because we cannot have all we want. If during the process that moves from distraction to desire to fulfilment we cross the red line from right to wrong, we experience guilt . Only when we become worn out by old age, do many of the desires subside, but not all of them. Unless our minds are gone, we still think about what we would like to do.
Lastly, consider a few other technologies that distract us. TV has been around for quite some time, but now we have smart TVs. The data analyzed from some surveys suggests that Americans, on the average, spend 3.1 hours a day watching TV. That adds up to a little over 1,160 hours a year. Another recent survey found that we spend five to six hours a day using our smartphones, in addition to the time we spend on them for work-related usage. Five hours a day eats up 1,800 hours. Of course, there would be some overlap because of the ultrasophisticated ability of the gadgets on the market. Each year, Americans collectively spend 70,000,000,000 hours behind the wheel of an automobile. The list goes on and on. Sadly, the moments described in each of the above categories may be occasions of distraction; most of them are neither productive nor constructive, but others may be moments of harm and death (even spiritual death).
We must train ourselves to filter distractions, follow the guidance of God’s word in reacting to spiritual distractions, act on the ones that are compatible with our purpose to serve the Lord, and rely on His grace and mercy to forgive us when yield to the wrong impulses. May we all seriously contemplate Paul’s alarming statement, “I am afraid that just as the [serpent] with his cunning seduced Eve, your minds may be led astray from single-minded devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3, New Jerusalem Bible).
