A friend of mine told me a story about how a momentary distraction resulted in serious consequences in his life. It was 1964, and he was a junior in high school. His father allowed him to use a brand-new family car to drive him and his date, plus another couple, to a social event. It was around dusk, late on a mild summer afternoon, and they were driving along with the windows down. As they approached an intersection, a bug flew into the car and settled on the inside of the windshield directly in front of my friend’s line of sight. As he reached up to swipe the bug away, he switched his gaze from the road ahead to the bothersome bug. Because he was distracted and took his eyes off the road, he didn’t see that the car in front of him had stopped at the intersection. By the time he regained his awareness and focus, it was too late. He jammed on his brakes and slammed into the rear of the car that was stopped. This was before the days of seatbelt laws, so on impact his friend in the front seat flew into the windshield and sustained a bad cut on her forehead. Neither he nor the other couple were injured—nor was the elderly driver of the car he hit—but he felt terrible about the injury to his friend who was taken to the hospital for stitches.

He said he felt foolish trying to explain what happened to his father and to the police. How could a tiny bug cause you not to see what was on the road ahead of you? He had no explanation—it just happened. His father had to replace the brand-new car, cover the repairs to the other driver’s car, and cover the medical expenses for his friend who was injured. The most painful consequence, he said, was later paying a visit to the elderly driver and apologizing for causing the wreck and damage to his car.

You and I could likely tell stories like this from our own life, times when we were distracted and lost focus. My friend’s experience highlights an important lesson: The tiniest, most inconsequential distraction can cause us to lose sight of what is important. In his case a bug caused him to put at risk his own life and the lives of others because he failed to keep his eyes on what was truly important.

Defining Distractions

Perhaps this has happened to you: It’s Friday evening and you and your spouse are talking about things you need to get done around the house on Saturday. Across the room the television is on with a game you are interested in watching. Suddenly, you realize that your name has been called several times: “David...David...David, are you listening?” You apologize: “Sorry, I got distracted by the game.” And you return your attention to the conversation.

That’s a good example of what a distraction is: something that pulls us away from what is important. Distraction comes from two Latin words: dis (“apart”) and trahere (“to draw or drag”). So a distraction is something that draws us apart (away) from something else.

This happens many times each day, of course. Thankfully, most distractions are minor and can be dismissed easily. But as in the case of my friend, even a small distraction can have calamitous results. Or if the distractions are not dealt with, they can repeat so often that they hurt a relationship or sidetrack us from an important priority in our life.

The important part of the definition of a distraction is its ability to pull us away. It’s like a distraction has a power of its own that it can exercise against us. Therefore, it is critical for us to recognize the power of the pull that is working against us. To illustrate the power a distraction can have, think of the words used by the apostle John: “The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). What the flesh feels, the eyes see, and the heart seeks can be powerful. Anyone who has experienced any of these forces—and haven’t we all?—knows just how dangerous some distractions can be.

To be clear, a distraction is not a sin in and of itself. Think of a distraction as a temptation—it can become a sin if we don’t defend ourselves against it and defeat it. Remember the words of the great Reformer Martin Luther, who said, “You can’t prevent a bird from flying around your head, but you can prevent it from building a nest in your hair.”

Distinguishing Distractions

When it comes to the spiritual life, think of distractions in two categories: internal and external.

Internal distractions are things like worry, envy, covetousness, the aforementioned lusts, anxiety, and the like. These are things that can pull us away from that which should be our norm: faith, trust, contentedness, joy, and the pursuit of Kingdom priorities. These distractions originate from within us; they are not determined by our circumstances. Jesus said, “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man” (Mark 7:15). He went on to give a long list of the internal distractions that can cause us to veer from our spiritual path.

That said, there is plenty going on outside of us that can distract us if we let it. From the international and national scenes to interpersonal relationships—it is easy to be pulled away from Kingdom priorities if we allow events, people, and problems to distract us from following Christ faithfully.

Distractions, whether internal or external, “feel” the same and have the same result. We feel like we are being pulled away from what is important, whether momentarily or for a longer period. The important thing is to recognize the “pull” when you feel it—and take steps to defeat the distraction.

Defending Against Distractions

When it comes to distractions, we can’t be pulled away if we’re not attached. Something only becomes a distraction when it diverts our time, talent, and treasure away from its intended priority. To continue my illustration above, if my wife is my priority, then a game on television is a distraction if it pulls my attention away from my wife. If my wife is not my priority, then a game on television is just an event.

What is our number one priority while we are on earth? According to Jesus, it is the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Anything that pulls us away from the values and priorities of God’s Kingdom is a distraction that we must defend against. Recall how Satan distracted Adam and Eve from God’s intentions for them by tempting them with the pride of life—becoming like God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And they yielded to that distraction with universal, disastrous results!

Know this: Satan is doing the same thing today. Because of his access to earth and its inhabitants (1 John 5:19), he “walks about like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8) seeking to distract people from God’s purpose for their life. We must never forget that Satan will do anything he can to prevent us from preparing for heaven while we are here on planet Earth.    

Defeating Distractions

The best way to defeat distractions is to replace them with stronger attractions. Like a television weather reporter who grabs onto a signpost or telephone pole to keep from being blown away when reporting on a hurricane, we must strengthen our attractions if we are to defeat distractions. We must remind ourselves daily of our earthly purpose—to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness. We must refocus our desires and affections on Christ through daily reading and meditation on His Word. And we must daily pray for strength, grace, and mercy by which we can remain focused on living a life of preparedness to enter His eternal Kingdom.

We know—we can feel—when we have yielded to distractions that are coming between us and our eternal purpose. When that happens, downsize—defeat—those distractions and renew your attraction to God’s priorities and purpose for your life.