This morning I decided to quickly scroll through some reels on my phone. I thought this would take a couple of seconds or a few minutes at the most. Fifteen minutes later, I discovered that I was distracted. My focus moved from a plan for the day to mindless scrolling that quick. The distraction got me. Luckily, I corrected myself, put the phone down, and went on to the task at hand. However, some distractions trip us up and we struggle to find our way to the path planned for us.
The Story: 2 Samuel 11
In 2 Samuel 11, distractions found David. Instead of attending the battle with the rest of the army, David stayed home. He went to the palace’s roof and saw Bathsheba bathing. This distraction led him to send for her since her husband was where David should’ve been. They laid together and conceived a son.
Now, David’s distracted by the outcome of his sinful act. He sends for Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, to return home so Uriah can sleep with his wife and cover the result of David’s distraction. However, Uriah refused because there was a battle going on and there was no room for distractions. As a result, David sends an unknowing Uriah back to the battle with a note for the captain about Uriah’s planned assassination. Therefore, Uriah died and David remained with his many distractions.
The Lesson
Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive. Distractions can lead to deception. We try to convince ourselves that if we do it this one time, everything will be fine. If we glance at a few reels in the morning, we can still get to work on time. Maybe the first time, but not every time. If we cheat this time, we’ll be prepared the next time. That’s if we don’t get caught. If we take one hit or steal one item, everything will be fine. We’re fine until the addiction takes over. Surely, David thought “everything will be fine” as he yielded to his distractions. Unfortunately, everything wasn’t fine. 2 Samuel 12 is full of the not fine things David experienced.
Before we find ourselves in the rabbit hole of distractions, how do we stay the course and minimize distractions.
- First Things First. Prioritization is essential. When we place our obligations first, we minimize the propensity of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In addition, we create free time for the things we want to do.
- Set a standard for ourselves. What rules do we live by and what governs our lives. We need an internal auto-correct to minimize the distractions and stay the course.
- Recalibrate. There are moments when we will give in to distractions. That’s okay. We’re not perfect. However, we can stop the distraction and reset ourselves on the task at hand. Although consequences may follow, we can recover from distractions.
“Nostalgia is a sweet place for poet and a writer to be in. But it’s an indulgence; a distraction. You can’t live in a distraction.” ~Gulzar
