In the past five days there’s no telling how many times I have saved my kid from running off a curb, smacking into a light pole, or hitting a building. “Momma, I want a boy bike!” Everly road her cousin’s shiny blue bike a few weeks ago and was convinced that boy bikes are the way to go. Deal! As tiny as that kid is, we had yet to get her a real bike because I wondered if she could even reach the pedals! So her dad took her to Walmart and brought back the coolest Paw Patrol bike in the whole world.
In order to keep the amount of minutes she is not riding the bike to a minimum, she convinces us that this bike belongs inside so she can ride it ALL the time. While cooking supper, I’ve been run over at least 42 times. There have been countless fights between her and Malachi as he is becoming quite the ornery dude and tries to take it from her. He thinks it’s hilarious. Needless to say, it is her most prized possession, to date.
We go down and around the town square and back to our house at least 176 times a day. She trucks away fearlessly, but every now and then she’ll get distracted by a bug, a piece of trash, the feet that have been attached to her tiny body for three years now. Ya know…things that would most likely cause us to take our eyes off the road.
Everly, look up. Beans, watch where you’re going. Hello, there is a pole right in front of you. Dude, stop looking at your feet!
How often do our eyes get stuck on people, this world, situations, etc. that almost cause somewhat of a disaster?
God may have told you a long time ago to walk this way, and maybe your current response is, “uh…but there’s this bug back there that I really wanted to look at. Maybe tomorrow.”
Obviously Beans is probably the only one being distracted by bugs at this point in her life, but what are these things for you? For me?
Career, education, money, hobbies, fear, doubt, social media, comparison, appearance, popularity, reputation, relationships, routine. You name it.
Maybe you are pouring countless hours into your career. Maybe you are overly consumed with a relationship (good or bad). Maybe your distraction is simply busy-ness or wasting time.
Maybe God gave you a wake up call years ago and gave you a huge push. You peddled and peddled and peddled and then…Oh my boyfriend! My kids! My career! Money! I have to keep up with everyone else!
I am constantly reminded that Satan is attacking us on every end (Ephesians 6:10-20) Distracting us. Putting things in front of us that keep us from running full fledged to Jesus. Using things that are “good” to keep us from relying on God for our provision.
John Piper said this… “So what idolatry looks like today is the activity of the human heart. This is not a deed of the body. That follows — a fruit on a branch. It starts in the heart: craving, wanting, enjoying, being satisfied by anything that you treasure more than God. That is an idol. Paul calls this covetousness — a disordered love or desire, loving more than God what ought to be loved less than God… But covetousness is the condition that this disordered heart is in, an act of loving too much what ought to be loved less. And that is why the wrath of God is coming. That is what idolatry looks like today. And it is everywhere in our culture.”
My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil (Proverbs 4:20-27, ESV).
Let our eyes look directly forward! Let us keep them on what matters. Let us not love too much what ought to be loved less…even if it is the coolest bike on the planet!
Bye friends! 🙂
Hey Brooke Fuller 