In the second and penultimate part of our series titled “Now these WMDs are deadly”, let’s focus on four more serious and legitimate distractions that we need to be wary of…
2. Education
For a young Christian who has accepted the Lord, it is not at all wrong to aspire for good education. The problem begins when the pursuit of knowledge (after getting admission in a good educational institution) becomes more important to him than the pursuit of wisdom, which can be obtained only by spending quality time at the ‘feet of the Lord’… a la Mary (See Luke 10:38-42). Distraction from devotions at a young age on account of education would be a case of the medicine becoming more harmful than the disease.
Put the Lord first in all matters of life, including education, and He would crown your efforts, yes even in the field of education with, success: “Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:6 NLT. See also Matt. 6:33). Would somebody care to check this with a certain Daniel and his three friends? (See Daniel 1:17-20)
3. Occupation
For a moment, let’s imagine a young Christian comes out of his college precincts spiritually unscathed. Naturally, the prayer of this starry-eyed job aspirant would be “Lord, help me land a perfect job and I will praise you in front of my entire church”. However on getting a wonderful job from the Lord, if he tragically gets so absorbed in it to the detriment of his own spiritual life with personal quality time, Church worship, fellowshipping et al trashed, then a crushing failure in job assignments would be just around the corner. That would be the Lord’s way of getting His child’s attention. I can vouch for it on the basis of personal experience.
Why learn it the hard way? A busy vice-regent of a land with pressing responsibilities studiously took time out to pray three times in a day. The result? He prospered! Oh yes, I am speaking of Daniel again (See Daniel 6:28)!
4. Possession
Besides the basics of life, it’s not a sin to aspire for comforts in life, for they add to our work efficiency. For instance, I can well imagine my predicament whilst standing in the pulpit on a hot summer day and preaching. The pouring sweat on account of the sweltering summer heat would sap my energy halfway through my message, besides being a source of irritation and distraction to the congregation and to me. In these circumstances, the utility of a cool breeze coming from a ceiling fan can never be understated. On the flip side, if I am possessed by the urge to possess all the comforts and luxuries, then I am ripe for trouble…a la Balaam (See 2 Peter 2:15). In these days of plastic money, let’s exercise due caution when it comes to accumulating all the goody-goodies of life. A maxed credit card, said a wise soul, adds no credit to the credibility of a Christian. How true!
If you already you know that godliness with contentment is a great gain (“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” 2 Timothy 6:6 NLT), then you would do well to remember this Divine promise too that God richly provides what we need for our enjoyment: “Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.” (2 Tim 6:17). Oh how blessed is a wise child of God who is always able to draw the line between ‘what he wants and what he actually needs’.
5. Television
If diabetes and hypertension in the medical world are known as silent killers, then the same can be said of this invention of John Logie Baird in the spiritual realm. Though strictly speaking, it may not be the most silent of our comely gadgets at home, it morphs into a silent killer in the hands of the ‘Ole enemy’ on account of its uncanny knack of doing the damage silently, putting us into a spiritual sleep as it were on its lap…remember a certain Delilah (See Judges 19:9)? Just when there is a prompting of the indwelling Holy Spirit to do something useful like visiting a sick brother or send an encouraging e-mail, comes the urge from our spiritual foe to see a perfectly legitimate TV programme, which can be as pure as a Quiz time or even a sermon. The end result? The good intention remains a good intention without ever acquiring the contours of a good action. Remember, having ‘a good aim’ is of no use, unless you ‘pull’ the trigger. Oh, how many middle-class families have prayed ‘Lord, give us a TV, we would watch nothing but Christian Channels!” So often they end up watching all programmes other than those channels! While, I am not against reinvigorating relaxation courtesy of the TV, I am all for discretion borne out of God-given wisdom to know where wholesome entertainment ends and where plain time-wasting begins.
Prayer: Father, enable us to keep our priorities clear in order we love thee unreservedly. In Jesus’ Name. Amen
Suresh Manoharan
J and SM Ministries
Hyderabad-India
(To access the entire “Now THESE WMDs Are Deadly!” miniseries, please click here.)