Look! A distraction!
We live in a world of distractions. Your phone is one stop shopping for distractions. Scores for the game, actual games, the internet, and even other people. Normally this isn’t a big deal, but distractions can be very dangerous because they render the most powerful man helpless. The word distract comes from the Latin dis meaning “away” and trahere meaning “draw.” Distraction being something that draws you away from what’s important. In the Bible the word only appears twice. The Greek word is περισπάω, περι the preposition for “around” and σπάω which means “draw” It’s used for when peter draws his sword to cut that guys ear off.
You get the idea though, when your attention is drawn away from what’s important you’re left vulnerable. The city of Ai learned this the hard way. When Joshua lead the Israelites to take Ai in Joshua, chapter 8, distraction was the tactic that God chose for them to use. The Israelites split off a small force that approached the city in the open and then ran away. The people of Ai were so incensed that they immediately sent out their entire army to chase after this small force that simply approached the city and left. When they did this they left the city defenseless. The just remainder of the Israelite army moved into the city, set it on fire and headed out to surround the army of Ai. The city of Ai was destroyed so completely that scholars still don’t know for sure where it was. Which is crazy because archaeologists have been able to find most ancient cities, even ones that were destroyed completely.
The army of Ai lost sight of what was important. The job of an army is to protect their country, or in this case, city. Ai lost sight of that and instead of protecting the city, they ran out to go attack some “punks who were back for more.” They got distracted and were drawn out to where they would be vulnerable. Even a powerful, experienced fighter can be easily knocked out if the allow themselves to get distracted.
In life it’s hard to tell if you’re losing the fight because the knockout’s don’t come all at once. It’s slow and it’s subtle; each little distraction leads to a little loss. Those losses build up over time until it’s overwhelming how often you check your phone, or how much time you spend on Facebook or surfing YouTube. Before you know it your focus is stolen from your family, your church, your life.
In Mark 4:18–19 Jesus explains the parable of the sower, where the seeds fell among the thorns. Jesus says that the thorns represent the worries of the world which choke out the seeds and make them unfruitful. As Christians that’s our job, to bear fruit for Jesus. Getting your head full of these other things can wither your fruit. It steals nutrients (precious time, focus, and energy) from growing fruit and wastes it. Stay focused and stay fruitful.
Lesson
Stay on target … stay on target …
I wish to express my undying gratitude for your focus and attention: THANKS COOL PERSON!
I have more of these cool things on my blog at lead2.live You’re awesome, and you matter a lot.
