“Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”
James 4:8 (NLT)
”Ingore him, Kayla!”
-Me
Our indoor dog causes divided attention at dinnertime. It’s a constant battle for my AuDHD daughter. Shadow, our big dog, is at the perfect height to be a nuisance at the table when we’re eating. He crams his nose into our laps, sniffs our plates, then sits with the most pathetic expression. He’s hard to ignore, but that’s what we tell Kayla to do. On one of these occasions, my mind went to this week’s Bible verse. God promises to draw near to us if we draw near him. Our heavenly Father is eager to spend time with us, to walk side by side with us. We simply need to want it too.
The second part of the verse explains the reason we aren’t always coming near God: We have divided attention.
Pay attention! But to whom?
When Kayla and I train Shadow at the same time, it confuses him. I’ll say, “Come,” and give him a treat and then Kayla will do the same. Before obeying my daughter’s command, he looks between us, not sure which of us takes priority. His attention and loyalty is divided.
Kayla’s AuDHD brain has a hard time with distractions. Her focus can shift as swiftly as one of the foxes darting across our yard. She has frequent “squirrel” moments—watch the movie UP and you’ll know what I’m talking about. A couple triggers for her divided attention are boredom and anxiety. The Israelites were no better. While Moses was up the mountain getting instructions from God, the people down below grew anxious and impatient. They didn’t know when or if Moses was coming back, so they went to Aaron and demanded that he create them a God rather than wait on the one true God.
Turning to other things.
Aaron acted foolishly and gave in. He asked for the people’s gold and crafted a calf. So quickly did the people lose their faith and disobey the first two commands of God. Their divided loyalty almost got them killed. When we turn our focus off where it should be, dangerous situations can arise. Think about driving. If our eyes aren’t on the road, we could have an accident. People could get hurt…or worse. When Peter’s attention turned to the storm around him, he sank. Until then, he had been walking on water.
Sometimes us parents turn our attention from God to less important things. Instead of caring most about our children’s character and relationship with Jesus, we focus on grades, sports, social skills, etc. We forget to give God credit when he helps us and our kids. If they succeed, thank God. When they fail, pray for them. Often times we forget who has the real power to make change. It’s not us.
~ ~ ~ ~
Where does your loyalty lie? With God or with all the worldly distractions? Let’s come near God today. Our lives will be better for it!
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