DO NOT BE DISTRACTED – Matthew 8:22
Matthew 8:22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
One of Jesus’ disciples came and asked HIM if he could go and bury his father. Some commentators believe that this disciple’s father had not yet died and instead was only sick. Jesus however renewed HIS calling to this disciple and reminded him that he was called to follow. Jesus told this disciple that he was to let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead. This disciple was required to forsake his family in order to follow Christ.
If this disciple’s father really was only sick and dieing, one could understand that this request to go bury his father would mean a long separation from following Christ. This would drastically affect this disciple’s spiritual growth and would probably greatly diminish this disciple’s effectiveness. Christ required that this disciple not allow the things of this world to distract him from the things of God. The disciple already had his calling and he needed to be very careful in forsaking that calling in order to do something that seems right but would eventually be contrary to the calling of God.
Satan is a master at bringing things into your life that will distract you from doing the will of God. If you understand what God desires you to do, then Satan will attempt to bring something into your life that will cause you to spend less time on the things of God. Satan is smart, he is not going to bring something into your life that appears unimportant, instead; he is going to bring something into your life that you will consider of high importance, more important than doing the will of God.
You must learn to set your mind upon the things of God. The spiritual tasks that God has placed in your life must become your top priority. If your mind is set upon the things of this earth than the things of this earth will be the most important thing to you. You will always be distracted from the will of God because something is always more important. Christ desires that you have a change in perspective. You must make God first in your life. You must learn that following Christ is your number one priority. If you have your priorities straight, than you will be in a better position whereby you can escape the temptation to avoid doing the will of God in order to do what others consider important.
It is your responsibility to understand the will of God for your life. When something comes up that requires you to spend less time pursuing the will of God, then you should be like this disciple who came to Jesus and asked HIM what he should do. This disciple did not simply take off and do what seemed right to him, instead, he allowed Christ to direct his steps. You may have your mind made up that you think this new activity is what you want to do but you need to be willing to allow Christ to direct you into not forsaking the calling that HE has placed upon your life.
You will not have the strength to stay on the path that God has chosen for you absent you have first added virtue to your life. You must take the time to set your mind upon the things of God. You must allow the will of God to so permeate your life that the things of God are your top priority. Satan is going to tempt you to do what seems important to those around you rather than being faithful to the calling of God. However, you cannot allow the pressures of this world to conform you into forsaking God’s perfect will for your life. Be very careful in setting aside God’s calling for your life.