Distractions

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” – I Corinthians 15:58

Pesky rascals that they are, distractions will never go away. They never take a day of rest, vacation isn’t in their vocabulary and they have more substitutes than the Redskins. Ever wonder why God allows them? Why, for example, should the phone ring just as you sit down to dinner? Why must the guy across the street mow his lawn at 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning? Why do your kids ask ten thousand questions while you’re trying to find exit 36D (which you just passed) on the Beltway?

I believe distractions exist for at least three reasons, all of which are found in Nehemiah 6:1-3. “Now it came to pass, when Sanballat and Tobiah, and Geshem, the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates), That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?”

1. Distractions help us sort out our priorities.
You’re reading the sports page and little Ricky wants to play catch. He’s a distraction, right? Wrong! The sports page is the distraction. Nehemiah knew the wall was not a distraction from meeting with the enemy but the enemy was a distraction from completing the wall. If priorities are confused, distractions will reign.

2. Distractions test our convictions.
Tonight is family night and nothing is going to get in the way. Ring, ring! “Hello.” “George, this is Fred, your stock broker.” “Wait a minute, Fred, while I go to the downstairs phone where I can talk in private.” Nehemiah had his convictions tested by distractions but met them head on, saying, “I am doing a great work; why should I come down?” Convictions will always be tested in the crucible of distraction.

3. Distractions build character.
Someone once said, “The test of a man’s character is what it takes to stop him.” Nothing stopped Nehemiah from finishing the wall, nothing stopped Abraham from seeking another country, nothing stopped Paul from planting churches, and nothing stopped Christ from going to the cross; but TV, newspaper, and the phone stop us from time with the family and the Lord.

So let’s take a lesson from a man who knew how to square off with distractions. They may have the first shot but should never have the last word. Well, I had best bring this to a close; there’s a cricket under my desk that’s about to drive me crazy. That’s the way I see things.