Have you ever been driving down the interstate and in front of you there is a rolling public service message that reads something along the lines of "Texting is distracted driving" or "Hands free devices only"? Sad that we have to be reminded about that, but it is reported that in the United States in 2020 approximately 1.6 million car wrecks were attributed to cell phone use. Cell phones are obviously a major distraction, while we should be focusing on the two-ton weapon of destruction that we are manipulating on the roads and highways we travel, so many of us are manipulating a phone while we are driving. If you stop and think about it there are myriad types of distractions that have the potential of taking our focus away from our driving priorities. Anything that we look at instead of the traffic around us and the road we are on qualifies as a distraction. Anything we are messing with whether we are looking at the AC controls, searching for a different song on the radio, reading a text, or as the case of the man I passed on the interstate one day that was reading the newspaper as he drove, really?? Distractions that lead to a wreck, at the minimum, delay our arrival to our destination. At their worst, distractions can lead to destruction and even death. Out of the 1.6 million wrecks associated with distracted driving, a quarter of those resulted in loss of life to the driver, passengers, or in some cases the driver in the opposite vehicle. Hence the public service message "Distracted Driving Kills".
In much the same way, anything in our day to day drive in life that takes our attention off of our destination serves as a form of "distracted driving" and ultimately can hinder us from fulfilling our purpose in life. Each of us has a purpose to fulfill, let me emphasize that again, YOU have a purpose to fulfill in life. Whether you have found your purpose in life, are searching for your purpose still, or have found your purpose and then revisited that purpose and realized you have multi-layered purposes in this life you have been given, it is ever so easy to allow distractions to pull you away from reaching your destination.
As mentioned above visual distractions are what we typically think about when we are considering what a distraction is, but there are other types of distractions that can be just as harmful and detrimental in our journey through life. Listening to the wrong messages can be a major distraction. The news in many cases today is filled with opinions and biases to the extent that if you watch a couple of hours of "news" you may be convinced the world is about to explode. "Idle hands are the work of the devil" Proverbs 16:27 means that if we sit around with nothing to do, when will we ever make a positive impact on the world in which we live?? A fourth type of distraction would be thinking about things that are not beneficial to positive outcomes. "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8, means that when we start allowing our thoughts to focus on pleasing self, then the ultimate purpose of our lives which is to help and serve others more than self, suffers because we are now distracted.
I firmly believe that each of us has a purpose that we are to search for and then live out to the benefit of others over self. When you find your purpose, your life is transformed and you can wake up every morning knowing that you have the opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone today, each day. What you don't want to happen is to become distracted by something as subtle as a negative thought or attitude. For example, your gift in life may be that of a giver. Givers give of themselves, their time, their assets, and their knowledge and experience. If a giver gets caught up in seeing corruption from those that take advantage of the government’s assistance program that could skew the giver's mindset about helping others that so desperately need support from a caring person with the gift of giving. The distractions are real, the damage they can cause is real, and the cost that has to be paid is detrimental to others and self.
What distractions are keeping you from focusing on your purpose in life? Do you know what your purpose is in life, or are those distractions keeping you from realizing what your true purpose in life? Have you ever considered the things that may be your "distraction"? What you prioritize in your life may very well be a distraction. Matthew 6:24 tells us that “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Wealth, possessions, your job, your social media presence, bad attitudes, TV time, hobbies, or even an unhealthy relationship can all be distractions that may hinder you from moving closer to fulfilling your true purpose in life.
As we conclude our time together for this week, I challenge you to evaluate where you spend your time and how that time spent is either helping you to serve others or is it time used to satisfy self? We all have a purpose, some know exactly what it is and they are fully embracing it, some know what it is, but have allowed some form of distraction to slow down or stop their progress, and others have no clue what their true potential is because the distractions in their lives are doing just that distracting them from seeing who they are in God's eyes. My prayer for you regardless of where you are on your path towards self-realization is that you can identify the distractions in your life and then replace them with a commitment to serve and share.
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. Hebrews 12:1-2
Coach Carter
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