Bulletin
Undistracted
Undistracted
There are many distractions that are not sinful in and of themselves, but they may get in the way of our devotion to Christ. Marriage can be a distraction, although marriage is a great thing! “But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided.” (1Cor. 7:32-35).
Those of us who are married, we deal with this every day. What are we going to do with our spouse today, this week, what would Christ want me to do today, this week? Time, effort, money, devotion is divided and it must be. But can it be sinfully divided? Jesus thought so.
One of the parables Jesus taught touches on this very idea. The third soil the seed fell on, “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Mark 4:18-19). Here Jesus mentions three distractions: worries, riches, other things.
1. Worries consume some people to the point they do nothing with the gospel. Being too worried what other people think, rather than what Christ thinks. How much time we spend reading Christ’s thoughts (Bible) and honoring them vs the time we hear the TV, YouTube, Podcast news. Did the election distract me from the eternal election, the one that matters (2Peter 1:5-11)?
2. Riches is not the category! No, but “the deceitfulness of riches” is in the category. What is deceitful about riches? Here’s Jesus answer, “As Jesus warned, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17). This deceitful trap can lead to a false sense of security and fulfillment in other things than Jesus.
3. “other things”, this is a huge category where we put something in front of Christ. Sports, school, my time, etc. When my wife’s mother saw her husband spending all his time in the garage tinkering with an old truck, she would pop her head in the garage once and a while and say, “Boy, I wish I were an old truck”. Would Christ think, “boy, I wish I were a TV”? Devote 2-3 hours every day, some people 5-6 hours daily. What a waste of life, how unfruitful. Write someone, call someone, visit someone, be hospitable, not for your sake, but for Christ sake. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27). Do you hear Jesus call? Do we not need to get up and actively follow? Or have I resigned to live in my “spiritual nursing” home though, I’m only in my 40’s or 50’s? Let’s answer the call of Christ… “follow me” (1Cor. 11:1). Dan Peters
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