This week, we've been talking a lot about being more Kingdom-minded, as well as pursuing God's purpose for your life. In keeping with that theme, I want to talk to you today about the importance of not being knocked off course and pulled away from what God has called you to do, by outside distractions. In order to fulfill His will, we have to be willing to nix, or get rid of the non-essential things that aren't pertinent to our purpose and develop a singleness of mind.
I'll share with you a perfect example of how easy it can be to get sidetracked.
Well, yesterday, I needed to work on an important client project, with a pressing deadline; but instead, ended up engrossed in a silly discussion. Before I reveal what it was about, I must say, if you've ever tried to debate with a three year old, you know how unproductive that can be. Although I'm well aware of the pitfalls of discussing non-sensical topics with toddlers, I got sucked into one of those conversations yesterday with none other than... drum roll please... my youngest son, Kaleb.
Right after lunchtime was over, I was just about to get situated so I could get some serious work done. Then, Kaleb struck up a conversation.
"Mommy, I purple," he said to me out of the blue while pointing to his skin.
I looked at him a bit strangely. He had the biggest grin on his face as if he'd somehow discovered a new revelation. We go over our colors very frequently, so I figured he had just gotten confused a bit. "No honey, you're brown," I responded. "See," I said showing him my arm. "You're brown like Mommy."
Un-phased by my attempt to gently correct him, Kaleb retorted, "I purple on my back." He lifted up his little gray T-shirt, struggling to touch his back with his thumb. "Your back is brown too," I said, to which Kaleb replied more adamantly, "No Mommy, I purple on my back." After trying several times, to no avail, to convince him that he was incorrect, I finally accepted that my attempts were futile. No matter what I said or did, Kaleb was going to be purple yesterday.
Period.
I had to decide if I was going to waste time trying to disprove his theory, or if I was going to let him "win" that debate and prepare to focus on work. I chose the latter.
The next time he said "I purple," I responded by saying, "You're purple? Wow, really? I didn't know that Kaleb." That response somehow seemed gratifying to him, so I let it be. I figured, in the grand scheme of things, my youngest son being convinced that he's the color of Barney, isn't all that traumatic.
Plus, I knew that being engaged in that conversation for any more time, was simply fruitless. So, I kissed him on his "purple" forehead and kept it moving.
I wonder. How many times a day do we get distracted over non-essentials? Now, think about how much more productive we would all be, if we handled these events, activities, and conversations in a way that minimized the time they took away from us. How much more praying would we do? How many more moments would we find to read and study God's word? In what ways might our worship and intimate time with the Lord intensify? How much more productive would we be in expanding the ministry He has entrusted to us?
By nixing the non-essentials, we make room for God's will to be fulfilled in us. Sometimes, that means giving the cell phone a rest; staying off your usual social networking sites; turning off the TV; or buckling down and finishing a specific project. Instead of devoting extended periods of time to idol chatter and all the other things that consume our time, let us become more diligent and deliberate about only availing ourselves to the things that matter most.
As always, thanks for reading, and until next time... may you be empowered to prosper!
Dianna Hobbs
