How far we have been distracted from Christian life?

How far we have been distracted from Christian life? It’s a question which we can probably not answer, but it’s my intention to provoke some thought in this area.

My basic premise is a gloomy one: we are sinful creatures with hearts that naturally incline to evil things. Jeremiah said of the human heart that it was desperately wicked and deceitful above all things, and Jesus said of his disciples that they were evil. If we examine ourselves as to whether we are truly faithful or whether we have been distracted, we might soon become pessimistic in our outlook.

Have you noticed how worrying is the Sermon on the Mount? I suppose the popular picture of the Sermon on the Mount is that it is full of Jesus’ practical teaching about life, and that it somehow has a rosy glow. This picture stems from the opening 12 verses, which have a series of blessings. Religious people read these and they slot themselves into one of the categories to be blessed, but beyond these verses the message is very serious.

Here is a quick overview with the emphasis placed on the negative aspects: the disciples are described as evil; false prophets are prophesied and described as ravenous wolves; the rejection of many ‘Christians’ at the judgment seat is predicted, and they are described as workers of iniquity; the religious leaders of the day are described as hypocrites in their worship, devotions and alms giving; the framework of the Mosaic Law was going to pass away; and we could go on. The position that Jesus takes is completely uncompro­mising, and he pulls no punches in his statements: for example, if the disciples lose their ‘salt’, they are good for nothing; if they love only their brethren, they are no better than anybody else; if their right hand offends, they are to cut it off, if their eye offends, they are to pluck it out; he outlines ways in which they would be in danger of the judgment, the synagogue councils and hellfire; he condemns the practice of oath taking in contracts as evil. There are commands which cut against our natural grain concerning resisting evil, cheek turning, and doing good to those who despitefully use us. Perhaps, after all, the Sermon on the Mount is not a rosy sermon! Here are some of the distractions it mentions:

Distraction 1 – Planning for the Future

Jesus said, “be not anxious for tomorrow: for tomorrow will be anxious for the things of itself. Sufficient to the day [is] its own evil”. (Matt 6:34), so here is a distraction: we don’t just think of the day, but we plan all sorts of things for the future. James has a similar thought and condemnation: “Come now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Though ye know not what [shall be] on the next day. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. Instead of that ye [ought] to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil”.  We take pleasure in planning for the future, we look forward in anticipa­tion to doing certain things over long periods of time – careers, houses, homes, holidays, long term hire purchase and loans – all these things consume vast amounts of time. We may not be the businessmen of James’ remark, but we do take for granted that we will continue to live. Such an attitude is tantamount to a denial that we are mortal creatures. Of course we know that we shall die, but such is our minds, we push this fact to the back of our, minds, and distract ourselves with the business of life and all its plans.

Distraction 2 – Money Worries

A major distraction in life is money: we cannot serve God and money, but a lot of our time is spent talking about money – getting it, keeping it, investing it – and our pre-occupation with money stems from the fact that it is the basis of worldly life. We cannot buy without money, and we need to buy in order to live. The whole fabric of our practical daily life is centred on money.  Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matt 6:25).

Distraction 3 – Broadway

Give my regards to Broadway, so the song goes, and it’s a nice irony that the main U.S. theatre and cinema complex in New York should be called Broadway. Jesus said this: “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in by it: Because small [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth to life, and few there are that find it” (Matt 7:11ff). We might think that we have found the narrow way, but can we keep on that narrow way? Stacked against us are the distractions of the entertainments that the world offers, including television, cinema, the general media, shopping malls, fun parks, and theme parks. All these things take up our time, until our time is gone.

Conclusion

Over time the balance of our life can change little by little, and we can fail to see that the direction has changed. We can devote less and less time to the things of the truth, and more and more time to the things of the world. However, nothing can separate us from the love of the Father, and as his children all we need to do at any time is turn to him and seek his forgiveness for our distractions and resolve to be more single-minded in our devotion to His business.