Focus

Have you ever tried to do something while focusing on something else? It is pretty hard, if not impossible to do this. Take baseball for instance. If you are the batter, you are taught to pick up the ball as soon as you can (ideally right as it leaves the pitcher's hand). Doing so and staying focused on the ball will give you the best chance of hitting it well. However, if you are distracted by other things and don't focus on the ball, your chances of hitting it (especially hitting it well) are greatly reduced. The longer you play baseball the more important this becomes as the pitchers start throwing harder and throwing with more movement.

Baseball is just one example of where a lack of focus becomes a problem. You can also look at driving, homework, reading comprehension, or just about anything else. If you are focusing on the wrong thing, you will have a hard time accomplishing whatever it is that you are trying to do.

I was reminded of this reality in my spiritual life through a story that Jesus told in Luke 12:13-21. When I focus on things other than God, my relationship with God is not what it could be. There are many many things that pull my focus off of God and not all of them are bad by themselves. The problem isn't that I am involved in things or spend time doing things, the problem is when those things become my focus. You've probably heard that when you're driving, wherever you are looking is where you tend to steer and therefore where the car goes. The same goes for life, where you are focusing is where you will go.

The challenge for me is not to get rid of all these things (although some I need to) that distract me or take my attention, the challenge is not to let them be my focus. So what are you focusing on? Let God be your focus.