Identifying Distractions

Some people have accused me of having adult onset ADHD.

Let them think what they will if they must.

While I may not agree with their diagnostic abilities, I have to admit that I do find myself very easily distracted.

I’m not talking about distractions in little things. I can easily finish washing the dishes or folding the laundry when I must. I can write up a blog post and dictate my charts without a nudge.

But what I am talking about are distractions from the main things in life. I’m talking about the big things. I’m talking about the important things.

You set out to live your life all out for God when all of a sudden  - bam! – you get waylaid by lesser things.

I want to share with you 4 things that distract me from living my life for God.

1. Personal Pleasures. Nothing ambushes me faster than entertainment and pleasure. If I can turn my brain off for a while and just chill I’m grabbing it. No matter that it will slowly kill my relationship with God like a cancer does until it’s too late. If it promises personal satisfaction, I want it right now. Do you find yourself choosing pleasure over holiness?  Nothing fights personal pleasures more strongly than finding your pleasure in God.

2. Personal Comforts. I want the easy way out anytime I can get it. Nothing yells “distraction” at me louder than my own personal comfort. Left to myself I’m apt to choose the bigger house, to build a bigger financial cushion, and to avoid any difficult relationship. But God’s way embraces those things that minimize personal comfort for the sake of His kingdom. How easily distracted by your own comfort are you?

3. Personal Rights. It’s not fair. Why does she get a better deal than I do? Where is God in this situation? Have you caught yourself with a growing chip on your shoulder as you fight for what you think you deserve? I catch myself angry at God for not putting me first. I can’t tell you how many times my Christian life has been close to veering completely off the road by my quest to put myself first. I don’t want that kind of distraction in my life. Not when I follow a Savior who gave up every one of His rights. Do you?

4. Personal Goals. This is the last of my distractions. I start off wanting God’s will in my life, but I’m not sure how I wake up suddenly working hard for my own personal goals, my own desired results. I glance at my prayer list and find it resembles an itemized list of my own specific objectives in life. I’m disappointed when God doesn’t accomplish my goals without a thought to what His goals and strategies for me are. When did it stop being about God and become about me?

Here’s the cure for a life of distractions: Less of me. More of Him.

It’s counter cultural. It’s illogical. It’s radical.

It’s the truth.

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