Things that Distract

I have been thinking a lot lately about things that distract. Yes, from family, from work, from important stuff. But mostly what distracts from Christ. Obviously, when you are distracted, you find ways to sin. Simple, tiny things at first. But they grow. Gateway sins, they say. So you have to fight it from the outset. Smokers talk about staying busy. Distract yourself. If you're thinking about something else, you lessen the desire to light up. But that is the way to stay away from things not beneficial. How do you move toward the good? The way, I think, is to do the opposite of what you would do if you wanted to quit smoking. Don't distract yourself. Christ, above everything else, demands attention. Solemn, extended, powerful attention.

Things immediately come to mind that distract, and that is where my thoughts have been lingering. TV, the computer, sports radio. Lame books, mindless magazines, thoughtless movies. This is how I get distracted. But do you know where I discovered this? In the shower. I discovered that I come up with the most profitable, helpful, imaginative things in the shower. Yes, the nudity helps. But mostly, it is the only time in my day I haven't given up to distraction. I am forced, for 10-15 minutes, to think. Washing my hair and shaving are part of my muscle memory now. So I just think. And to my stupid astonishment, I discover new and wondrous things. I discover things about myself, I create, I pray, I think of my family. Were it not for those 15 minutes of quietude, I might never have an original thought.

So what is needed? True meditation. No, not like Buddhist monks who focus on nothing. Meditate like Christ, whose single passion led him to the wilderness for 40 days, whose single passion drove him to his knees over and over. And our single passion is Him. His goodness, holiness, mercy. His righteousness, his blood.

But how? Find the time. Turn of the entertainment more regularly. Shut down your computer. Be intentional about thinking on the immeasurable greatness of God. As I have intentionally avoided distraction, and as I've looked over my shoulder at what I had become, I realize that I had been drinking motor oil when water lay they for the lapping up.

Matt Chandler gives a good list of things that distract:

-Watching too much TV and spending too much time online
-Staying up late for no reason
-Following sports too closely
-Being physically lazy
-Empty conversations (talking for hours about nothing)

And things that don't (these are personal for him):

-Early mornings and hot coffee
-The writings of John Owen (at the time it was The Mortification of Sin)
-Listening to Lauren sing
-Walks through graveyards (I know this is weird but it reminded me of mortality)
-The book of Hebrews
-Robust dialogue on ecclesiology or missiology
-Sermons by John Piper (I agree!)
-Angst-filled music