Avoid Distractions, Maintain Focus

I was listening to a Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast and he was explaining to leaders how 2021 could be their most focused year ever.  His simple premise was that a person needs to avoid distractions and maintain focus.

Are we ever distracted?  According to Business Insider, the average person touches their phone over 2,600 times a day.  Those really tied to their phones can handle their phone more than 5,400 times per day. Some of those touches are completely legitimate, but some are distractions.  The average person is on social media almost two and a half hours each day. Again, some involvement on social media may be necessary, but it can also be a great distraction.  Groeschel eloquently summarizes the destructive nature of distractions: “They divide our heart, disengage our mind, distort our perspective, discourage our soul, and disrupt our priorities.”

As we reduce distractions, we want to maintain and increase our focus. For all of us, there are important targets we want to hit.  Clearly as believers we want to focus on the things that matter most to the Lord – and the things that should matter the most to us.  May I suggest that we focus on knowing, loving, and serving Christ; loving our families; prizing our relationships with our brothers and sister in Christ; growing stronger in prayer and reaching others for Christ.  Make your own list of personal distractions you want to eliminate and areas where you want to place your focus.

I will close with a Scripture that demonstrates that this concept is thoroughly and clearly biblical.  Hebrews 12 describes the process of getting rid of distractions (everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles). The next thing the Hebrew author tells us is to focus on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Hebrews 12:1-3 –  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 

Avoid distractions and maintain focus!