Losts of Distractions...

How did we keep ourselves busy, connected and focussed before the advent of technology? I asked myself this because it is almost impossible to have a sane moment without one form of device or the other. I am so grateful to God for the gift of Facebook(FB), you cannot imagine how many lovely people I have been able to connect and reconnnect with and other ways that technology has brought progress and improvement to our daily lives! People in the Western hemisphere can communicate without any hitch with folks in Africa, those in Australia can be on the same page with other parts of the world, you can get a message to US from the land of Zulu in seconds and indeed the world has become a global village.


Regardless of the many advantages of technology, we have to be aware and careful of the distractions it has brought to our lives. What are distractions? It is divided attention of an individual or group from the chosen object of attention onto the source of distraction.

How do you handle your cell phone, pagers, laptop, ipad, smartphones etc? Do you have limits as to where to use them, how often and when to switch them off? Do you get restless when a new version of a device emerge on the market? A lot of people are still trying to figure out ipad1 and then ipad 2 is out and before you know it ipad 3 will follow. How many of these do you need and to what extreme do you go to acquire them?

The focus here is not whether you should have them or not but how do they impact your life? I sat down in the car with my children waiting for my hubby who had gone to run a quick errand and I found myself glued to my phone. I am able to read and write mails, send text and do a whole lot of my phone but if I didnot have a cell phone, everything would have waited till I got home. I would have been able to talk to the children and listen to their conversations. How often do you pull out your phone when you are supposed to be relaxing with your spouse or children? When you seemed bored, do you find it easy to turn to your gadgets to stay connected? Connected to who? Entertainment has taken over quiet moments, children and adult play games; all sorts of games killling the enemy, destroying towers and almost anything you can imagine. Have you noticed how captivating games are and they sure are a "good" way to waste time.

In the church, you may pretend you are reading the bible and making notes on your ipad but actually be playing a game. A friend of mine got nabbed during a meeting, he was playing a game and he had won, well we all heard applause coming from his ipad and new he had been in his own world because he had won a trophy! Right in the middle of a meeting...


Here is what the bible says: Proverbs 4:25 The Message

"Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore sideshow distractions"


In a world where there are so many things attempting to shift our focus from the object of our focus, we do need to pay attention and be conscious of what God has called us to. We used to require a television and DVD player to watch a movie before but right now, you can watch anything on the go. Pornography, a topic for another day has become a major problem even among christians and is rocking the boat of many marriages. How much time do you spend on facebook and twitter? After you have checked out pictures on your friends profile, does it make you feel dejected and wonder why other peoples lives are better than yours? If God has been blessing you, with facebook, you find it hard to not flunt it to the whole world, every new dress gets a click that gets posted on facebook, when you cough, you take a picture of it and show the whole world. I have a facebook page and I have pictures there but remember there always has to be moderation in all we do.

I also came across a quote:

"Any occurence requiring undivided attention will be accompanied by a compelling distraction" - Rober Bloch.



What has God committed into your hand? The devil is set to distract you from succeeding therefore, he positions, a compelling distraction to shift your attention. How much time do I spend in prayer, how much time do I spend in the study of the word? The word of God is steadfast and ever abiding and does not answer to modernization. Lets keep our eyes on the goal. Do you watch all the shows on TV or satellite and you feel you too should be like the women you see there? You have to first ask yourself who their father is, if you do not share the same father, you will be acting like a bastard by going the way of their father...


We watch shows, movies and see what cool, successful women do,wear and we are tempted to do same at home. No! If it does not fall within the stardard of the kingdom you belong to, dont dare copy it.The people in the world copy their father - devil in the many evil and attrocities they commmit, we should copy our own Daddy by living holy and daily carrying our cross to follow Him.


God has not blessed you and made life easy for you to get distracted and move over to the camp of the enemy. Most of the time, you do not see the flag or banner stating "camp of the enemy or devil".Matthew 4: 8 The devil has a way of showing you the kindgdoms of the world, and the glory of them, however, it is up to you to know that only the Lord thy God should you worship. If you are caught in activities that are laced with an element of godliness, you have to check and make sure you are not loosing the main focus for which you have been apprehended.


You are God's children, you have to exude God's glory in all you do, looking your best, attaining great heights by His grace but remember to keep your eyes on the mark. Heb 12: 1-2

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth s easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hnad of the throne of God".

Blessings!