The Devil’s Playbook 2 – Distraction
Podcast description:
Andrea and I learned early on in parenthood that distraction is a great child management tool.
Scenario 1 – in the park.
Child: I want an ice cream
Mum: You can’t have an ice cream.
Child: But I want an ice cream now!
Mum: But you just had your dinner
Child: Ice cream.
Mum: You just had your dinner and you had a big chocolate pudding. You must be full up.
Child: Please can I have an ice cream?
Mum: You’ll be sick
Child: I said pleeeease?
Mum: Do you want to be sick all over your buggy?
Child: No, I just want an ice cream.
Mum: Daddy, do you think an ice cream is a good idea?
Dad: Wha? Sorry? I don’t know. Er. (Tunes in, sees mum’s expression) No. Ice cream makes you fat.
Child: Has daddy had an ice cream?
Scenario 2 – in the park.
Child: I want an ice cream.
Mum: Oh look! There’s a slide and some swings!
Dad: Oh yes! They look amazing!
Child: (being taken away from the ice cream van) I want an ice cream.
Dad: I wonder how high I can push you on that swing.
Mum: Careful darling.
Child: Swing!
Dad: Come on then! (pushes child high on swing)
Child: I feel sick.
Mum: You won’t want an ice cream then will you.
Child: Ice cream!
A distraction is a thing that prevents someone from focusing on something else. The example above is a good use of distraction to help stay away from unhealthy options, but to the untamed mind, distractions come in all shapes and forms and can hold us back and drag us down.
There are, then, two elements involved:
- A desired focus (e.g. exercise)
- An undesired focus that has got in the way (e.g. café with donuts next door to the gym)
We can be distracted from work, exercise, healthy relationships, study.
And we can be distracted by anything that looks more appealing at the time, usually something that brings quicker but less helpful results.
All this is familiar to all of us and we never grow out of it. We all have desires that can get in the way of good things.
But it’s not just us who are aware of this. God has plenty for us to focus on but much of it reaps rewards that we can’t instantly see. And our spiritual enemy the devil has got plenty of distractions up his sleeve that are intended to eventually throw us off course altogether.
So, what is God’s desired focus for us?
Last week I mentioned God’s playbook and our role in it. It was really simplified but gave us a good overview of what God’s up to in the grand scheme of things.
- Save humanity
- Come back to earth
- Punish the devil
- Reign forever with those who believed in him
Then I said that our role in all this was
- Love God
- Love people
- Make disciples
But if I could distil it down and risk even oversimplifying it further, I’d say the desired focus is summed up by Jesus in Matthew 6:33
“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,”
Seek first – there isn’t a ‘second’, unlike the greatest commandment where God gave a second too. Seek his kingdom first. For everything else you have two options – put it second or throw it out altogether.
You brought nothing into the world, and you cannot take anything with you when you die. You may have heard the joke about the man who tried to bring some gold to heaven when he died. When he got to the gates of heaven St Peter asked him what he had with him. The man replied, I pleaded with God before I died, and he let me bring this to heaven. Peter asked what was so special about a lump of pavement. In reality, you can’t take anything with you. But some things you do are of eternal value. You can store treasures in heaven by seeking his kingdom first. But you can only do that if you’ve had a forensically thorough declutter of the whole of your life and decide if everything you do has a kingdom attitude about it and if everything else you seek is secondary. Otherwise it’s a distraction.
Distraction from
Here’s what seeking the kingdom first looks like. This is the desired focus, from God’s perspective, and also from yours if you have given your life to Jesus. Deep down you know this is right. Your flesh may cry out in rebellion but if you listen deeper, you will agree that the following desires are planted within you. You want this to be true…
- Every decision you make is run through the filter – what will honour God the best?
- When you are thinking about a new job, your career in general, or a house move, these decisions are less money motivated than kingdom minded. You won’t move away unless there is a good church nearby. You won’t take a job if it means sacrificing godly commitments. You trust God as your source and your real mansion is waiting for you in heaven.
- If you’re single, it’s important that as well as having romantic, emotional and physical attraction, your future wife or husband is an all-out follower of Jesus with a compatible sense of calling.
- If you have kids, they know that whether or not they score highly in their exams, or if they secure a good job, the most important thing to you is that they have a heart to serve God and to find out what pleases him.
- Each day you are seeking his kingdom first when you are out and about, or at home.
- How you spend your time demonstrates your kingdom mindedness.
- How you spend your money and how you give is an expression of your heart for God.
We are told to seek first the kingdom and his righteousness. The above points are a good example of what righteousness looks like.
Your spirit agrees with everything I’ve said. But for some of us our flesh is crying out, ‘No!’ or making excuses or philosophising over reasons to only agree to an extent. Fine. But let me finish by looking at the devil’s playbook and reveal to you the distractions he loves to use. And be open minded as we look at them. Maybe there is something God wants you to change.
Distracted by
1 John 2:16 gives us three categories that come from the world – here they are in two versions:
New International Version
For everything in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–comes not from the Father but from the world.
New Living Translation
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
Look at these three categories from this verse:
- Lust of flesh – Things we go after based on emotions, e.g. a craving for physical pleasure, biological, natural, unchecked and untamed desires. Greed, sex, one-upmanship, revenge, power.
“The woman saw that the tree was good for food…” (Genesis 3:6)
The focus is on your self – making yourself feel good, feel better without including God.
- Lust of eyes – Things that distract us by their instant appeal, e.g. a quick fix solution that does not weigh up the consequences, expensive toys that do not last, surface level satisfaction, alcohol glinting in the glass, a one-night stand.
“…and pleasing to the eyes…” (Genesis 3:6)
The primary focus is on the object that caught your attention.
- Pride of life – Things that make us look better, e.g. self-made success, pride in achievement, approval of others. These things are of the world, so the ‘life’ is not the same as the ‘life’ Jesus promises in John 10:10.
“You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5)
The focus is on others – their opinion, how they see you, and how you rank amongst them.
Much of what we go after in the flesh is just a counterfeit of what God offers in his own way. He wants to give you all that you need. But our flesh wants it sooner, or in a way that does not ultimately glorify God. Thus, anything we do outside of his ways becomes an idol because we have prioritised our own methods over his purposes.
There is a second half to the verse about seeking first God’s kingdom:
“and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Your heavenly father knows that you need these things and if we put him first, though it may delay, he will give us all we need. But in the delay or in the moment of distraction, we are easily led into that which appeals to the eyes, the flesh or our instant reputation.
We are all vulnerable to this. They question is not if, it’s when.
When are you vulnerable?
Here are some typical answers:
- God seems silent / distant – it’s hard to stay focused on someone you can’t see or hear. That’s when you will be presented with someone or something visible – a counterfeit blessing or quick fix solution. Need to spend time in the word and prayer – pride of life – I can do this on my own – can even be a god ordained goal
- You feel low on energy – want an easy fix – lust of eyes
- or low emotionally- hard to lift the full armour of God. Would rather snack on something easy. Need people around you you can be honest with. – lust of flesh.
Your playbook – ways to seek first his kingdom first:
Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.
Last time we said that keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus was the key to defeating the devil. Three ways that help us to do that are…
- Prayer: aim to talk to God every day, even if it’s just for a few more minutes than you normally do. Talk to God. Listen. Bring him in to every moment.
- Get into the Word: open the bible app and start a reading plan and stick to it, listen to great teaching, preaching on podcast and YouTube.
- Fellowship: Do not give up meeting with other Christians who will build you up and keep you in check.
Remember, we are here to win. The devil is just a fallen angel. We just have to be aware of his schemes so we can run the race marked out for us effectively.
God bless you 😊
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