I was picking Grace up from work. As I assisted her into the car, I noticed a truck trying to position itself to take the spot where I was parked. I was looking at the direction of the truck as I walked around the car to get to the driver’s side. Suddenly I found myself on the ground gasping for breath. I was distracted. I wasn’t looking where I was going. And so I tripped over a “parking bumper”—that cement block found in parking lots.
It was a bad fall. For a moment I had difficult time breathing. I had landed with my left arm under my ribs. The fall knocked the wind out of me. Though there were no severe scratches or outside bruises, my left side was very sore. Even now, as I write, certain movements or positions would still cause some pain. Getting out of bed can be quite a task. In fact, coughing or laughing could be a painful experience.
Scripture has something to say about being distracted. For example, when Jesus visited the sisters Martha and Mary, Martha is described as being “distracted with all the preparations she had to make” (Luke 10.40 NET). She complained to Jesus, who then rebuked her: “you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10.41–42 HCSB).
In the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4.1-20), the seed that fell among the thorns is interpreted as describing people who are distracted by “the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things” such that they prevent the Word from producing any fruit in their lives. This is similar to what Jesus warns us against when he declares: “do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on … But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6.25, 33 ESV).
Indeed, being distracted from the truth and values of the Kingdom and focusing on earthly priorities can result in painful consequences. The apostle Paul, for example, exhorts us concerning the pursuit of earthly treasures: “But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6.9–10 NLT).
May we find the grace to become true followers of Christ, focused in pursuing the things that really matter to him, doing his will.
—Keith Y. Jainga