Distractions are a way of life but they demand discipline and not acceptance. You will be distracted from reading this blog before you get to the end of the first paragraph. More content is produced in a shorter period of time than in all history and it competes for your attention. The world is increasingly well connected and more easily accessible for your consumption via outlets that are informative and social. All distractions demand discipline not just time management and a good ‘to-do’ list.
It’s hard to miss the fact everyone’s attention span is decreasing and empirical data supports what everyone is experiencing (Distractions) At work, employees surf the web, waste time on their phones and productivity and morale go up and down depending on the distraction. People try to ‘balance’ their personal lives. Time management is a hot topic and a skill necessary to survive. The fruit of being distracted manifests in living in a tyranny of the urgent. The result is high stress levels, epidemic claims of ADHD and less joy in everyday life.
Easter was a reminder this problem has been around forever. When Jesus was stressed to the max, ‘to the point of death’ and asked his best friends, His closest confidants, His trusted inner circle to give Him an hour of their time…they were too distracted and couldn’t do it. That may help you feel better about yourself, but His reply identifies what is behind the curtain. ‘… “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.” ‘ Matthew 26:40-41. Distractions take away your focus and lead to temptations.
Distractions are temptations. We are tempted to change focus and redirect our hearts, minds and actions. In business this means missing deadlines and disunity on the team. In your personal life, it may look like binging on a television series instead of building or repairing a relationship with a child, friend, spouse or parent. In the BIG picture, distractions make us operate on a more shallow level and take us away from a relationship with God. This, is the original distraction and is at the root of why we experience so many distractions today.
The God of the Old Testament, the Creator of life, heaven and Earth, saw this happen in the Garden of Eden when Satan distracted Eve. He knows distractions are a problem so He made it easier by creating the first ‘to-do’ list, otherwise known as the Ten Commandments. The top three on His list were reminders not to be distracted away from HIM. I paraphrase, but read it in Exodus 20:4-7…You shall have no other gods before me…don’t make anything else a god to you because I’m a jealous God and punish those who hate me and show love to those who love me and keep my commandments…and by the way, don’t even misuse my name. In other words, don’t be distracted from ME!!
In 2015, 75% of Americans called themselves Christian. This number has been decreasing as the distractions increase. If the original Christ followers were distracted when they could physically see and hear Him, where does that leave us? Jesus said when we are distracted from Him, we can fall into temptations because we focus on ourselves, the physical and not the spiritual. Temptations originate with distractions and can lead to death.
If you think death is a stretch, James reminded us that ‘…each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.’ James 1:14-15. What makes this unpalatable is the reminder our first focus should be God and not ourselves. Lucifer had the same problem.
The low hanging fruit of distractions tempting us away from God are easy to see…too tired to go to church and worship…kids sporting events on Sundays…politicians in office that mock God with laws and actions that are self serving. So, we start the day without acknowledging and listening to Him…only turn to God when something blows up or is too big…get obsessed with politics and believe you are in control of who gets elected and not God…think love and respect has to be earned and not given freely…believe punishment and wrath is your responsibility…simply too busy and distracted from a God you don’t see.
If the nature of a distraction is to tempt us and lead us away from God, it makes you wonder why the increase in distractions these days? Is there a reason the world is less focused and more distracted or is it more of the same thing, the same tricks used by the same enemy of God? This is a better question for theologians but it remains a fact as our attention spans shrink each year.
Distractions demand the discipline to identify what IS important and remain focused. You can’t completely avoid distractions but you can avoid losing focus on what matters to you. This will lead to a more productive workplace, a better home life and stronger relationships with everyone.
Decide your focus and learn to recognize and avoid distractions. This discipline could determine your happiness in life and your eternity.