Distraction Price

Psalm 52; Amos 8:11-12; Luke 10:38-42; Colossians 1:15-28

Central Baptist Church, Lowesville, VA

22 July 2007

It is so easy to be distracted these days. If you find any difficulty along those lines, we have an entire industry designed just to distract us. We call part of it our entertainment industry. We have become so good at distracting ourselves that we often fail to understand the price of too much distraction. Not only do we live under a barrage of entertainment options, we also live with a new array of voices pleading for our attention to competing claims for the focusing of our lives. We may become so bombarded with claims for our attention that it becomes easiest to grasp for one more distraction. Is it even possible to live a focused and undistracted life, anymore?

Before we delude ourselves that distractions are new to our age, we must remember the words of Psalm 52. Some 3000 years ago, the psalmist reflected on the distractions of life around which so many were focused. David, at least, chose to live by a rule other than the distractions of power, wealth, and self-aggrandizement. He chose, amidst the options before him, to serve Yahweh instead of life’s myriad distractions from the main end of living.

David did not contend with an electronic entertainment industry, instant communications, text messaging services, junk mail and spam. He did, however, contend with the same basic issue of distraction that we face. Will we build the security and stability of our lives on serving and trusting in the faithfulness of Yahweh, or will we take some other path. The psalmist judges all paths aside from that of Yahweh—the distractions—as evil. They are evil, not in the sense that they are designed to injure, maim, and kill. They are evil in that they distract us from submitting our lives to the security of God’s steadfast love.

While Saul plotted to kill David, some gained prominence by aiding Saul. David lay his future and security in the hands of Yahweh as he served in faithfulness. He resisted the distractions of power, wealth, or the easy way out of his dilemma. Rather than take matters into his own hands, he determined to trust and serve Yahweh. The psalmist saw in David’s attitude and actions his commitment to remain true to God’s claim on his life. Do others notice commitment to God in our words and deeds?

As missionaries in Brasil, we were offered many distractions. I was encouraged to teach more at the seminary to distract me from expanding the extension program. We were asked to work more in existing churches than develop work among people without the gospel. We were asked to invest energy reporting numbers to the detriment of preaching Christ. We had to focus our attention of the purpose of being emissaries of God’s presence. Are we distracted from living in the immediate presence of God?

Amos briefly recounts the greatest issue with our distractibility. Amidst our greatest need for God we remain so distracted by all our other pursuits, we do cannot even find God’s Word. We seek security in things that cannot provide security. We seek provision where none exists. We seek direction from sources that are inadequate at best. Even seeking the Word of Yahweh actively, we are so distracted by other pursuits, we do not find it. Do our lives evidence access to the presence of God?

It is tempting to view the passage of Mary and Martha from the standpoint of conflict regarding the proper role of women in the home and life of the church. While it is proper to understand that Jesus did not wish to limit either one’s participation in the greater things of understanding and serving God, the issue of women’s roles is a distraction from the real issue. That was Jesus’ whole point. The real issue at hand was not where the women should have been, nor the many tasks associated with hosting a large gathering. The central issue was the proper place of God in one’s life.

As far as Jesus was concerned, rules of propriety and hospitality were distractions which interfered with more important matters. While Martha was occupied with all the busyness of living and social expectations, Mary had recognized the greater need for spiritual nourishment and fellowship with God. Are we too caught up in our lists of distractions that “have to be done” to find time for spiritual fellowship and nourishment?

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,^[1] Harry struggles with various distractions to the major task set before him. He understands the greater task set for his life, but he must deal with a variety of otherwise important issues that would distract him from the central task before him. He must learn to give priority to issues of importance. Do our resources of time and energy focus on the things of Christ?

Mary and Martha had difficulty with Jesus as the tangible image of the invisible God. Mary perhaps had a better grasp of this reality, but Martha was definitely too distracted by the many tasks of daily living to accept the priority attending to Jesus’ presence in her life. It is easy to critique Martha for failing to prioritize Jesus’ presence and make the most of hanging onto his words. It is harder to accept that we have essentially the same opportunity today. Just as in Christ God was actively reconciling the world, so we are offered that same reconciliation today. We just don’t grasp the point of reconciliation.

God in divine fullness was pleased to dwell in Christ and so among humanity specifically to call us to intimate fellowship with our loving Creator. Though in our distractions we live in varied venues of hostility toward God, God came among us in Christ specifically to reconcile us into divine fellowship. If believers of Jesus’ day did not quite grasp that God was living in their midst, we ignore the same truth we claim with Paul. While we lay claim to God’s presence, we live more according to the distractions of the world all around us. Do our lives declare fellowship with the God of love?

We are surrounded with many distractions, even many that claim to come from Christ Jesus. We are encouraged to look upon worship as one more entertainment event to distract us from the realities of living, rather than an exercise in refocusing our lives in fellowship and service to God. We are encouraged to think of God’s love as coddling our desires and whims, distracting us from our responsibility to serving God in faithfulness. How can we display the supremacy of Christ in our lives?

The problem with all these distractions is that they also distract us from the cost of allowing ourselves to focus our lives off of Christ Jesus. We are enjoined, after all, to give our lives to the service of the Christ Jesus as Lord. If we are unwilling to submit our distractions to God in order to live in full fellowship with Christ, we miss out on the whole purpose of reconciliation with God. We are reconciled in order to live in harmony and fellowship with God. We are saved from the snares of distractions in order to live with Christ Jesus. Do our actions and habits serve to bless and benefit others, so displaying our commitment to Christ Jesus? If not, our distracted living comes at the cost of missing out on the blessing and fulfilled focus of God’s immediate presence in our lives.

—©2007 Christopher B. Harbin

¹ J. K Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Scholastic, Inc.; 2005.