by Allan Hornbuckle
When one goes to the Scriptures to learn about how to walk in a manner pleasing to God, there are many things which may be noted to be important. One of those things that is worthy of mention is the concept of keeping our focus on God. A few verses that emphasize this are:
Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
God is clear in His word that if we want to maintain our faithfulness to Him, we should be solely focused on our spiritual life. There are many warnings also of the dangers of not focusing on God.
Hebrews 2:1, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”
2 Timothy 4:9-10, :Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.”
In our modern world there are many things that can allure us to be distracted from spiritual things. I would like to mention a few of these distractions and offer some practical ways we can maintain our focus on what is truly important in our lives.
Entertainment
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spends $2,827 on entertainment annually. To put that in perspective, their findings also record that $2,979 is spent on healthcare. That means that the average American spends almost as much on entertainment as they do their own physical wellbeing and health. That is a very high amount.
Recreation and entertainment are valuable however. By using time away from work, stress, and other worries we are able to decompress emotional pressure and be ultimately more happy and productive. However, there is a need to maintain a proper balance in where we spend our time. If we want to keep our focus on spiritual things, we must understand the need to limit our time and expenses towards entertainment and recreation. If the bulk of our income goes to distraction from stress and our lives, is that the best use of the financial blessings God has given us?
In Matthew 25:14-30 the Bible records the parable of the talents. In this parable we find a Master leaving his wealth to three servants that are in his household. He invests this wealth with them that they can use it to bring back a profit while he is away. Two of the servants go and trade with the money and double the master’s initial investment. The third servant goes and buries the money until the master returns as to not lose any of the money. The two who bring back a profit are approved and given the lord’s approval and the third who was lazy with the master’s money was rebuked and chastened. The overall message of this parable from Jesus is that God gives us certain blessing to bring a return from His investment. There are many possible applications from this, but most obvious is the fact that God blesses us with the time of our lives and the money through employment to be used to bring glory to Him.
If we spend the majority of our time and resources on ourselves through entertainment and leisure, we are wasting an opportunity to bring glory to our Master. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place for entertainment, recreation, and leisure but to not be distracted from God we must maintain balance.
Technology
We have so many valuable tools at our disposal in our day and age. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to use the internet to connect to virtually everyone on our planet. We can communicate with people around the globe in an instant, inexpensive way. It’s a marvel that we have all of these resources at our fingertips and in our pockets.
A question was once asked on an internet forum “If someone from the 1950’s suddenly appeared today, what would be the most difficult thing to explain to them about life today?” The most popular answer was this: “I possess a device, in my pocket, that is capable of accessing the entirety of information known to man. I use it to look at pictures of cats and get in arguments with strangers.” What an interesting perspective on the common usage of our technological assets.
We can allow our phones and computers to be a distraction from the most important things in life. How many times have you seen a family sitting in a restaurant and while they are together, sharing that experience they all have their phones out and are lost in the screens? Also you can commonly see people who order their food and before they take their first bite, they have to snap a picture of it and post it for strangers to see, “like”, and comment on. What a strange world we live in.
The capabilities of these devices are so wonderful, we want to be good stewards of them and their uses. So how can we protect our focus and ensure it’s placed in the proper place? Here are a few suggestions I have tried which have helped me keep focused:
Have a “Screen Sabbath”. This is a day a week where you do not use your computer or phone except for absolute emergencies. This allows you to break the mental dependance on your screened device.
Do you find yourself opening and checking certain apps on your phone almost through auto-pilot? Try this: delete the app on your phone for a week. See how many times in that week you pull out your phone and click where the app used to be. It may surprise you how often you will do that. It sure surprised me.
Make a daily commitment for “no screens after XX o’clock”. I try to ensure that I will not be on my phone any later than 10. It will be different for each person for a variety of reasons, but your family will notice the conscious effort you are putting forth and will be appreciative.
Finally, try to use more analog forms of communication to connect with life before the internet. For example, do you have someone that you are thinking of Facebook messaging to catch up? Send them a letter. Like a real letter. On paper that you have to send through the mail with a stamp and everything. Do you need to take notes throughout the day to remember certain things? I know I do. Pick up a small pocket notebook like a Moleskine or Field Notes and keep it in your back pocket. It’s amazing to re-learn how physically writing a note down helps you retain the information.
Self
In our world we are taught that the most important thing is personal happiness. If you want to be successful, you work hard for yourself until you find happiness and fulfillment. The Bible has another take on it: “When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “ Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it” (Mark 8:34-35).
It also interesting to do a search on how to overcome depression. Among all the practical tips for overcoming a mood of melancholy, doing something good for someone else is consistently suggested. If we want to be focused on God and spiritual things we ought not forget James’ definition of pure religion: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
Notice Luke 17:5-10,
“And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “ If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, “Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, “Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.”
In this teaching, Jesus is essentially saying that if you want a challenge to your faith which will increase it, think of yourself as a servant of the Master. When you do His will instead of expecting thanks for your service, understand that doing His will is your purpose. You are only fulfilling your duty to your Creator. What this will do is to pull you out of yourself. When you exist to serve and to perform His will, there is no more self there is only service.
How does this help us practically? Well, when you think of yourself as only a servant of God you know exactly to whom you are accountable. This same sentiment is reflected in 1 Corinthians 4:3-5, “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God.”
So to conclude our thoughts, there are some things which can distract us from God and our spiritual lives. A few of them are entertainment, technology, and “self”. If we want to be faithful to God we should want to not be distracted and maintain our focus. May God bless in so doing.
While the winter season takes its toll on the landscape, it is a reminder how our winter seasons can take their toll on us. We look forward to those springtime blooms to sprout and the colors to show their vibrant hues. What we fail to remember is that they were there all along, just lying dormant. 
