Too Distracted?

      A Grand Forks, North Dakota mother came face to face with how important it is to keep your priorities and not get distracted by less important things.

      This mother stopped in at the Wonder Years 2 day care at about 5:30 pm to pick up her 5 month old baby. Her, child, however, was not there. In fact, she realized she had forgotten to drop her child off at the day care. The baby had been left in the minivan all day.

      Many people, no doubt, will ask how a mother could do such a thing. I can imagine it. I have no doubt this mother loved her baby very much and wanted the best for her child. What happened? She strapped her baby in, hopped in, started up the car and took off. As she pulled out of her driveway she turned on the radio and began to think about her work deadlines. By the time she got to the place where she would turn to go to the day care instead of work, she was wrapped up in a world of jobs and finances. She turned toward work. As she pulled into the parking lot she was probably feeling the stress of all that she had to do that day.

      She went to work and wondered how her baby was doing at the day care. Then she hopped in the car and headed to go see her baby that she had missed all day. What a tragedy. Our hearts and prayers go out to this mother and her family. We know her life will never be the same again.

      But how often do we do the same thing spiritually? How often do we plan to get our lives disciplined spiritually, but then we begin to think about all the other things in our lives. We think about jobs, school, money, relationships, health, etc. Then the Bible reading we meant to do, doesn’t get done. The prayer we planned doesn’t get started. The time with brethren we keep thinking about never happens. We will get to all of that tomorrow or next week. The time teaching others the gospel we always wanted to do never happens.

      Surely God will understand, we are very busy people. Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on the earth.”

      One issue that demonstrates how distracted we get is that someone reading this is thinking, “I can’t believe Edwin is equating the death of an infant with Christians not reading their Bibles, praying or completing other spiritual disciplines.” I know it seems shocking.

      However, that little unaccountable child is with God in paradise right now. Sadly, many Christians are on the slow path to destruction because they are too distracted by life to get ready for eternal life.

      Just as that mother cannot bring her child back, if we stand before God in judgment unprepared, we won’t be able to get our eternal lives back.

Edwin L. Crozier