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"Concern for appearance might be the
American original sin .... The temptation to
settle for looking good while everything is
falling apart inside can be dangerous. After a
long season of accepting appearances for reality,
a Christian forgets what truth even sounds
like." (Brennan Manning)
Living By
Distraction
Spiritual
ADHD (Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder) runs rampant among
us. More and more of us seem unable to be still,
to focus, to wait, or to listen. We fill
our lives with more and more "stuff" that has less
and less significance. A tragedy or crisis may
stop us briefly. But then it
passes.
We
hurry from appointment to phone call to email - or
from school to shopping to sport - living by
distraction. We prefer the pace and the demands
because they lull us into a feeling of importance.
Busy people are important people. (Who wants to
visit a doctor who is on time and has no line of
patients in the waiting room? The
delays affirm their importance - an
importance we'd all like.) Conveniently, the
pace we embrace also drowns out the voices of
Christ and others who might point out the
thin ice we live
on.
Generally
speaking, we're much more comfortable with
busyness than stillness. Constant noise is
preferable to silence - just note the next church
service you attend. We want to dismiss the quiet
place as tedious and unproductive, but the
assertion is simply an excuse to mask the fact
that we feel threatened by
silence.
On
the one hand, I'd like God to speak to me. But, if
necessary, couldn't He leave a voice-mail or email
that I can check on when it's convenient? I'm open
to Him guiding my life, but I'd be happy if
He'd just bless my dreams and plans. I'll follow
Him anywhere, at the appropriate season of my
life. I want to be obedient, but I hurry along
lest He actually issue an instruction.
I'm
the football player refusing to sit down in the
dressing room lest the coach catches my eye
and has a word for me. Is it not much easier - and
safer - to run up and down the stands greeting the
fans, walking along the sidelines checking out the
condition of the field, and chatting endlessly
with former players and commentators about the
state of the game these
days?
One
challenge of our day is not to find time
for Christ - but to find the courage to
stop for
Him.
Contrary
to popular claims, the distractions of our lives
do not emerge from the world. We create them and
empower them. We choose to carry the cell-phone,
turn on the computer, load up the i-Pod, work
early and late, arrange "business lunches," etc.
My schedule, despite my complaints of "a life out
of control," remains largely under my control. I
make choices every
hour.
Our
choice to "live by distraction" undermines our
intimacy with each other ... and the Father. The
distractions become destructive when they clutter
our lives, plug our ears, and blind our eyes to
spiritual
realities.
Perhaps
this week some of us will choose to be "fully
present" to our spouse, our family, our friends,
and our Father - a novel concept in our
day.
In
HOPE
-
David | 
