The Kitchen Table: DISTRACTED

Today we live in a world that is full of noise and distractions and at times we are hard pressed for a little peace and quiet. I grew up in an era when everyone had quiet time. In fact it was a big part of life. On Sundays after church or Sunday school, you came home and changed your clothes (back then we saved our best for Sunday or special occasions) ate and spent the rest of the day being quiet, reading and waiting for the Ted Mack and Ed Sullivan TV shows. When the weather was nice we could sit outside on the porch or steps, but we didn’t run up and down the street, jump rope, play hop scotch or ride our bikes as we did the other days of the week. Sundays were peaceful.

In today’s world there’s so much noise and so many distractions vying for our attention and time. Distraction: a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else. Yup, that’s our world, full of things that prevent us from giving full attention to the things we need too. And worst of all, we often can’t hear ourselves think. And if we can’t hear ourselves think, then how can we hear the small quiet voice of our Messiah?

Jesus himself said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) “And they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” (John 10:5)

Again I ask, “If we can hardly hear ourselves think, then how can we hear the small still voice of the Lord?”

It’s impossible to have a steady diet of junk food and be healthy. It’s also the same for our spiritual wellbeing. What goes in—is what comes out. Going to church one day a week and never reading the Bible the rest of the work, does not build strong spiritual muscles anymore than going to the gym once a week and gorging on food the rest of the week, builds strong muscles. But that is what many of us do. We don’t attend Bible study or read any books that will help us grow in the ways of the Lord so that we will know the difference between His voice and that of a stranger.

The most familiar strangers we listen to and follow are the TV, internet, tweeter, Facebook, newspapers, and all sorts of social media. We are fed a daily diet of lies and misconceptions. We watch movies and TV shows that have nothing good to offer us and allow them to eat away at what truth we do know to be right. We are so distracted by our phones, email and text messages we can hardly eat and have conversation with others without being interrupted by some type of electronic devices. Yet we wonder why we are encountering so many difficulties in our lives?

It is impossible to know the voice of the Good Shepherd if you don’t spend time with Him. It is the same in the natural—we recognize the voices of those we talk to and interact with regularly. And we don’t recognize the voice of the telemarketer or person who has dialed the wrong number. In a crowded store a woman can hear the word, “Mom” and know if it is her child calling her or it is meant for someone else. So, we do know voices and who they belong too. But it takes relationship to get to that point.

If we have time to play Candy Crush, interact on Facebook, tweet, text, read emails, watch TV and or movies, then we have time to spend with the Messiah, learning His voice. It’s just that we can be lazy and self-indulgent when it comes to the work needed for a good relationship with Him. But then again, as a young single woman I remember spending hours talking on the phone to a man of my choice. So, it really boils down to what we think is important.

Sisters, going to church once a week is not enough to have a close relationship with the Messiah! Doing our own thing all week long only gets us into trouble and prevents us from living the good life. Stop making poor decisions (of your own emotional making) and saying you prayed and this is what God told you to do. You are deceived! And you know how you can tell—at the end—your schemes never work out! You find yourself in the same place as you were before. You keep going around in circles. There’s no real peace or joy in your life, and you’re overwhelmed and sad.

If we want things to change in our lives we must make the decision to get to know the one who died for us. Spend time with Him—fall in love with Him. Turn off those things that distract us from being with Him. Get to truly know His voice and be able to follow Him and not strangers or the deceitfulness of our own hearts.

The more time we spend with our true Love, the more we want to do things His way. The more our hearts change and the wiser we become. And we understand that sin only brings heartache and grave consequences and it is in our own best interest to do things God’s way. The more time we spend with the Good Shepherd the more we will follow Him and run from the voice of strangers or our deceitful hearts. Amen!