It’s not hard to get caught up in distractions that detract from our efforts that focus on God’s will. Our passion can be captivated in many ways. For example, sometimes, we temporarily misplace it into alternative time sinks. Often these come under the guise of selfless efforts or morally neutral endeavors that don’t redeem the time for God’s glory. There is a place for many things, but when they take up more of our time, energy, and focus than serving God, they can become problematic. We can approach resolving this situation in at least two different ways.
The first that comes to mind is probably the most obvious—simply redirecting our efforts with intentionality on matters and taking inventory. What is it that we could re-prioritize? Is there something that needs to be put on the back burner because there are more vital things to spend our time doing? These are the kinds of questions that should lead us back on the right track. If we don’t take some time, we may allow these outliers to become more central parts of our lives. What we barely spent any time doing before may encompass more and more of our attention over time. As our hobbies become habits, they come dangerously close to potentially destructive and addictive patterns of behavior. Such practices can cause seemingly harmless activities to detract from our relationship with Jesus Christ. Ideally, we catch ourselves before this stage of entanglement and redirect our efforts accordingly. Prayerfully seeking what God would have us shift our attention to would be a good start. It demonstrates that you have a desire and a willingness to make adjustments despite your current lifestyle choices.
The second way that could be of practical use in this situation is incorporating Jesus Christ, evangelism, or some aspect of redeeming value into your hobby, leisure activity, or habit. For example, you might have an affinity for something such as traveling. I understand that everyone needs a way to cope with life’s stressors, and you may deserve a vacation by all means. However, if you feel convicted about not fulfilling the Great Commission in your life, perhaps you want to incorporate some of God’s vision for you into your next vacation. You don’t have to visit a remote village in the middle of nowhere to do this. Just about any holiday can become an evangelical journey if you desire to make it one.
Even if you’re not ready to confront people face-to-face with the Gospel, you can hand out Gospel tracts or plant them in familiar places where people might stumble upon them. I’ve personally had the privilege of unexpected divine appointments in various places. It could be the person sitting next to you in flight, a waiter at a restaurant, or a random encounter in a taxi. There are endless opportunities to share the Word of God. They are frequently more receptive than you might think. I will not dive deep into evangelism strategies here in this article, especially since everyone has their unique approach to these situations. Still, I will say one thing: It’s often helpful to convict someone of their need for a Savior so their hearts will be receptive to the Gospel. Many assume they’re generally good people if they don’t understand our need for Jesus Christ and our fallen state as humans. Once they understand their sinfulness, they’ll be more likely to embrace the idea of needing Jesus Christ. If you stick to only head knowledge, they may not feel a conviction in their heart to make any significant change.
One recent, widespread time sink that many of us have been enveloped by is the state of politics in our country. There is a lot of division and widespread criticism coming from both sides of the aisle. I agree that there’s a place for discussing the views of those who hold power to legislate initiatives that impact my freedoms. However, I think we go overboard when our political activism outweighs our efforts to do God’s work. Instead of working on sowing seeds of division, we need to work on finding common ground. There are times where we need to find satisfaction in agreeing to disagree because we can’t win everyone over to our side. We all have different upbringings, educations, and political leanings, even amongst other believers. These factors will often shift our perspective in one direction over another because of our unique life experiences.
There is no need to emphasize Republican or Democratic principles over Biblical principles to guide our decision-making. Why look to the government for solutions when our rights are God-given? We should consider there is more value in winning souls for Jesus Christ than winning votes for our favorite candidate. I hope our country can heal from this because it’s clear that a kingdom divided within itself cannot stand. Find peace and comfort in God’s sovereignty. We know that whether we voted for President Biden or not, God allowed him to become president. At this point, it is our responsibility as Christians to pray for him, his cabinet, and everyone across both sides of the aisle in leadership to help steer our country in the right direction. Spreading hate, misinformation, slander, and so forth does not serve us well. It’s apparent to me that this applies to both Republicans and Democrats. Ultimately our destiny isn’t determined by those in power but rather by God Himself, who exalts and humbles people as He wills.
All of us will be better off if we consider these ideas. I realize not everyone can agree on politics, but those of us who love God and people have more meaningful ways to align peaceably with one another. Do you think those who have yet to come to saving faith are drawn closer to Jesus Christ when they see our passion for politics or Jesus Christ? Sometimes the most significant transformation comes from demonstrating our faith through obedience to God’s commands in our lives. The seemingly small actions compounding over the lifetime of a believer can prove more inspiring than a million sermons.
Don’t forget that new brothers and sisters in the faith observe our actions and consider whether we’re walking the walk. I don’t know about you, but I have some work to do. I am sure we each have at least a few areas where we can stand to improve. Let’s all take inventory of our focus, time, and energy so we can direct them all to actions that bring God glory. It doesn’t have to be a life overhaul overnight. The small, incremental changes over a long time horizon can yield excellent fruit too. We need to prayerfully discover what works for us by following God’s lead and going from there. If we genuinely desire to honor, glorify, and acknowledge God, He will clarify how we should go about doing precisely that. There is no greater way to find long-term fulfillment than to fear God and obey His commandments. Everything else, by comparison, is vastly overrated. For instance, King Solomon tried to find satisfaction in all sorts of temporary distractions, but he rightfully concluded that they all led him to dead-end roads. Do not take my word for it, but instead contemplate what the Word of God says on the matter.
“13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NKJV)
May we all heed this sobering advice and live praiseworthy lives accordingly in the sight of God and man.
