Distractions distractions, and more distractions.
I travel all over the world for our foundation (see www.globaltrain.org)training national pastors in such place like Rwanda, Congo, Togo, Liberia, Uganda, Myanmar, and Haiti. All of these countries are identified as developing countries, formerly called the third world. They all have one thing in common. They all, for the most part, are marked by extreme poverty, government corruption, and a malaise which could be characterized as desperation or hopelessness, perhaps both. The majority of the populations move from day to day hoping only to put food in their children's mouths and gas in their cheap Chinese scooters or keeping their bicycles in operation. Beyond that, there is not much else to which they can aspire.
For these people, life is defined not by what clothes they wear, what car they drive, what house they live in, or what kind of food they eat. Its actually much simpler than that. It's merely about survival. They don't have the option of thinking about anything else. It's really that simple. They cannot afford to get distracted from what really matters most.
When Paul the apostle told Timothy, "But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content," in I Timothy 6:8, he was giving Timothy, and all Christians, a foundational truth of life. We basically don't need any more than that to survive. For most of us, this flies in the face of everything we have been taught to think, especially as Americans. Jesus told us that our life "does not consist in the things we own" (Luke 12:15). He also reminded us that our souls are of infinite value versus the valuelessness of "things," and that one day all the distortions and distractions of life will be forever removed at the judgement seat of Christ.
From the moment I land back on US soil from a classroom in one of these countries, I am shocked by the unlimited number of distractions Americans encounter every day of their lives. From sports to careers, to pleasure, and the next big purchase, many people in our own country have allowed themselves to be manipulated by myriad distractions of daily life. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have to work on doing two simple things. First, let's commit ourselves to keeping it simple by staying focused on what is most important for both time and eternity. Secondly, we must remove the existing distractions in our lives now so Jesus doesn't have to remove them later!
For these people, life is defined not by what clothes they wear, what car they drive, what house they live in, or what kind of food they eat. Its actually much simpler than that. It's merely about survival. They don't have the option of thinking about anything else. It's really that simple. They cannot afford to get distracted from what really matters most.
When Paul the apostle told Timothy, "But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content," in I Timothy 6:8, he was giving Timothy, and all Christians, a foundational truth of life. We basically don't need any more than that to survive. For most of us, this flies in the face of everything we have been taught to think, especially as Americans. Jesus told us that our life "does not consist in the things we own" (Luke 12:15). He also reminded us that our souls are of infinite value versus the valuelessness of "things," and that one day all the distortions and distractions of life will be forever removed at the judgement seat of Christ.
From the moment I land back on US soil from a classroom in one of these countries, I am shocked by the unlimited number of distractions Americans encounter every day of their lives. From sports to careers, to pleasure, and the next big purchase, many people in our own country have allowed themselves to be manipulated by myriad distractions of daily life. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have to work on doing two simple things. First, let's commit ourselves to keeping it simple by staying focused on what is most important for both time and eternity. Secondly, we must remove the existing distractions in our lives now so Jesus doesn't have to remove them later!
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