DISTRACTIONS

I almost died the other night. Really. It was crazy. I was on my way home from Bible study at about 11:30 p.m. I had pulled up to a stop light. My light was red. While I was waiting on the light to turn green, I decided to call my friend and see how she thought the night had gone. So I reached up to turn off my radio, grab my cell phone, and hit the speed dial number to dial her number. While I was doing all of this, I looked up at the other light to see if it was yellow or still green to see how much longer I’d be sitting, because, of course, at 11:30 at night I was in such a hurry to get home anyway. The other light was green. Not thinking, I started to go with my light still totally red. Of course there was somebody coming and I panicked and stopped right in the middle of the street. He slammed on his brakes and stopped about a foot away from me. I flipped my car in reverse and got back to where I was supposed to be. As soon as I got back to where I was the other car went ahead, but not after making sure I saw which finger he was holding up for me to see.

Have you ever had one of those moments where something just didn’t register and you make a completely wrong move, and before you can correct it, you either look stupid, or somebody is driving a Bronco right into the passenger side of your compact car? I have those moments every so often. Very seldom does it put my life or someone else’s life in danger, but this one time it did, it shook me to the core. Did I really need to be talking to my friend at 11:30 p.m.? Sure, I didn’t have to work the next day, but she did. Did I really have to be doing five things at once?

I think this is our problem in society today. We’re too busy. There are so many distractions out there to take our mind off of what’s really important. I believe God made us for one reason: to worship Him. Our focus needs to be on Christ, and then the rest will follow. If we’re busy focusing on our families and friends and social lives, our focus is in the wrong place, and it could put our lives in danger. Our lives are supposed to be lived in worship of God. If we live our lives as an instrument of worship, there will be plenty of time to devote to our other obligations. Like I said earlier, God wants our attention first. He wants us to make Him our top priority. If our priorities are in line, it will be so much easier to focus and get rid of the unnecessary distractions in our lives.

Father, help me to focus on You. Help me not to let the distractions of everyday life get in the way of living my life in worship of You. Amen.