Spiritual Snacking

ENDLESS OPTIONS ARE A RECIPE FOR GOING NOWHERE

I went into my first year of college wide-eyed at the glorious new liberties that lay before me: no curfew, the ability to make my own schedule, and, perhaps most exhilarating of all, the à la carte line in the cafeteria. Delight welled up inside as I discovered that multiple flavors of ice cream were available for me every single night. Taking full advantage of my new freedoms, I indulged without care for several weeks. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that I do not have the ability to consume copious amounts of ice cream and remain physically unaffected. Weight gain and lethargy promptly followed. Suddenly, the thrill of choice became a barrier to staying healthy and balanced. I was faced with the dilemma of how to pick and choose wisely in a world full of buffets.

Endless Choices

Our lives are inundated with choices from the moment we wake up to when we try to shut our eyes at night. It’s estimated that the average adult makes an exhausting 35,000 decisions every single day.¹ Do I push the snooze button or just get up? Which outfit should I wear? Should I check my email or texts first? I often lay down at night and struggle to fall asleep as my brain buzzes from all this frantic choice-making. I wish I could just shut out all the noise in my mind and have a genuinely quiet minute. 

The word “distraction” is derived from an old French term for a method of torture used to punish the most grievous offenders. The criminal had each of his arms and legs attached to a separate horse, and then they were released in four different directions.² As gruesome as that is, I can’t help but relate: my mind often feels yanked in just as many different directions. I’m starting to find that the à la carte line is no longer solely a cafeteria feature – it characterizes my entire existence. The problem is, I still love ice cream. But when my choices are only what is sweet, effortless, and comfortable, my appetite for healthy food diminishes, and I just want to cram in more junk food to fill the void. I endlessly scroll on my phone instead of having a meaningful conversation with my neighbors because it’s just plain easier to zone out than risk an awkward social encounter. Instead of reading the whole book, I read the Cliffs notes. But what kind of person am I becoming when I constantly push aside the difficult and only do what’s comfortable? We all know what happens if you do that in the cafeteria.

Drifting and Distracted

As Christians, we can’t ignore the effect this buffet world has on our relationship with God. Ultimately, our attention shifts to what’s important to us, becoming a barometer of our deepest affections and desires. That’s a scary thought because when I think about where my attention goes most frequently, I’m ashamed to admit it’s not very holy. Jesus explains the result of misplaced attention when He shares “The Parable of the Sower” in the Bible. He was talking to a large crowd about how different people will respond to His words. There are three bad examples and one good example of potential reactions. One of those bad examples hits uncomfortably close to home, and that’s the seed that fell among the thorns. Jesus elaborates on what He means by this in Mark 4:18-19, “And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke out the word, and it proves unfruitful” (ESV). 

…what kind of person am I becoming when I constantly push aside the difficult and only do what’s comfortable? We all know what happens if you do that in the cafeteria.

Jesus is telling us clearly that everything in the world around us has the potential to distract us from our goal, which is remaining connected with Him and pursuing His priorities. If we drift along the soothing current of distraction, making no effort to swim upstream, we will be swept away into ineffectiveness. In the book of Hebrews, we are warned: “Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1, ESV). Drifting is easy, but I don’t want my Christianity to look just as numb and preoccupied as everyone else’s life. We’re called to represent Jesus Christ, who remained focused and single-minded in all His pursuits. When distractions relentlessly pull my focus away from God, I’m creating ruts in my mind and heart that will deepen over time. It will become habitual to travel that road, resulting in a slow loss of my affection for Jesus. A drifting, distracted Christian no longer stands in awe of a majestic God. But what does that say to others about the worth and power of the world’s Savior? 

Staying Focused

I’m going to tell you the secret of how to live faithfully for God in a highly distracting world. I will warn you outright that you will not find it on Google or with a few quick phone swipes. The Bible says, “…let us also lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder, and perfector of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:1-2). The secret is found in this verse. If you look closely, there is something to set aside, something to develop, and something to maintain. Let’s break this down so we know exactly what it means for our day-to-day life. 

Set Aside 

Distraction is never going away. We all face the same temptation to be distracted, but God knows this and has not left us helpless (1 Corinthians 10:13). As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit and can live lives marked with self-control. You will need to say “no” to things that aren’t inherently bad but aren’t helpful (weights). We set aside weights and sins by consciously deciding to get rid of them. You will need to stop indulging in sins you know to be wrong. Make a choice and ask for God’s help as you do it. In any relationship, cooperation is necessary to accomplish a goal. 

As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit, and we can live lives that are marked with self-control.

Develop

I used to rock climb at our university recreation center. My best friend and I would go together every week. One of us would hold the rope, and the other would climb the wall. I would stretch and grab each rock while she held my line in case I fell. Rock climbing is strenuous, sweaty work. Sometimes the next hold was just out of reach, and I would need to push myself off the rock I was standing on to jump to the next one. About half the time, I didn’t make it, but thankfully the rope caught me safely, and I could try again. Sometimes I would reach that next hold, and then I could climb even higher. But my friend would never pull me up to it; I had to make that jump. Running our Christian life race with endurance is similar because we need to develop the type of character that will not give up when faced with a challenge. The goal is to finish well, knowing we gave our full effort to live our life for God. Our focus is there, and when we fall, we are held up by our lifeline, but then we keep climbing. Both our effort and reliance on God, working in harmony, are required to propel us forward.

Maintain

All this is useless if we do not have and maintain affection for Jesus as the motivation behind our effort. Have you ever been in a dating relationship? I have. The first few weeks are magical. All I wanted to do was spend time with him, think about him, and tell others about him. I chose not to browse the internet at night because we talked on the phone. I set aside Saturdays for all-day excursions in the city where we met up. I spent my lunch break texting him. Sound familiar? Anyone who has gone through this will understand that love prioritizes the object of its affection. 

Fixing our eyes on Jesus means spending time with Him by reading the Bible and praying daily. It looks like thanking Him, worshiping Him, and enjoying Him. It’s rejecting things that pull our attention away and intentionally counteracting our natural tendencies by choosing to obey His words instead of our impulses. Distractions will lose their appeal if we fall in love with Jesus Christ and keep nurturing that love. Relationships require work, but if we truly love someone, we will do whatever it takes to keep the connection strong.

In the long run, your most important life decisions happen through the culmination of numerous small choices made each day. Will you live an à la carte life, picking and choosing only the tastiest bits? Or will you get to work cultivating a strong relationship with Jesus despite the risk of being uncomfortable along the way? There is no quick-and-easy road to the goal, but you can get started in the right direction with choice number 35,001.

¹Graff, Frank. “How Many Daily Decisions do we Make?” UNC-TV Science, 7 Feb. 2018

²Koch, James. “Distraction is Torture: Four Keys for True Effectiveness.” LinkedIn, 27 Jan. 2015