Listen to what Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:3-4… “3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
Paul points out that there are a LOT of different messages out there. Many people will say things that others WANT to hear even if it is not true. People will follow their own desires and then listen to stuff from other folks that supports their viewpoint.
Now Paul’s words were written 2000 years ago, but this could easily have been written this morning! There is so much out there in our world that matches up with what Paul is describing. There are so many messages that are encouraging us to NOT follow the truth.
And because of all those distracting messages and temptations, we need to be intentional about living intentionally. Because if we are not, then we will easily get swept away by the distractions out there.
I read a story about a fight that broke out in a retirement home in Florida. The Spring Haven Retirement Community had to call the police over an incident at the salad bar.
The article talked about how mealtime turned ugly after an 86-year-old complained to 62-year-old about picking through the lettuce. Name-calling soon gave way to punching and the police were summoned. During the incident, one resident was bitten when he tried to stop the fight. Another resident knocked down and another one received a cut on the arm.
Now let’s think about this… “Is a salad bar worth fighting over?” Most sane people would probably agree that the answer is a big , “No!” In fact, I am willing to bet that most of those residents would say the same thing.
The problem was that they got distracted. They got caught up in the moment. And because of that, they “missed out” on the bigger picture.
Likewise, I encourage you to not lose sight of the “big picture.” Keep your relationship with Jesus at the forefront. Keep the mission that he has given you (to make disciples of all nations) as a high priority. Because if you don’t, you will lose sight of the mission and relationship and get caught up in other things.
So I challenge you today… be intentional about being intentional. Protect your relationship with Jesus. And stay focused on the mission he has given you.