DISTRACTIONS in DISCIPLESHIP (for the ladies)
One of my favorite animated movies is Up. It makes me laugh when the dogs are all talking together, and suddenly, out of nowhere, comes something that catches their eye: SQUIRREL! It doesn’t matter what they were discussing or what was going on, but the fact that a squirrel crossed their path it made them totally ignore everything else and get distracted by the squirrel.
Maybe what’s not so funny is that this happens to us - humans - more than we know. Whether we are disciplers or disciples we can get completely distracted from what we have committed to in our walk with Jesus Christ. And the sad thing is that we can lose focus with really good things - not just what would be considered bad or evil or sinful.
Relationships are extremely important, but they can become dangerous distractions in our lives if we let them become preeminent over our relationship with the Lord. They can be a hindrance to true discipleship. I’m specifically speaking to the women right now. At all different walks of life and stages in our spiritual maturity, there are more than a few things that can turn our heads and cause us to step away from what’s really important - or to be truthful, we make that choice for ourselves, don’t we?
For single women, this can be in the form of a guy - SQUIRREL! You may really have good intentions about being paired up in discipleship, you’re doing ministry, walking with the Lord, and then that old flame shows up from years ago. But he has no desire to walk this same walk with you. Maybe he’s even a “Christian” guy. But is he interested in making sure you both are growing in your relationship with the Lord? If not, he’s a distraction! He’s not worth it! 2 Cor. 6:14-18
It never ceases to amaze me. We see it all the time in discipleship. Someone comes to know the Lord, gets baptized, attends COD, and begins the process of Biblical Discipleship and then - SQUIRREL! A previous relationship comes along and they walk away from D1, the church, and God. So sad.
For some of you, maybe the distraction is that you are discontent with being single. You are ready to find that perfect guy, settle down, and not be alone anymore. But this is what is more on your mind than God’s Word and being in obedience to Him. Believe me, this will eventually turn to bitterness toward the Lord. Not a good place to be - and definitely not a way to grow spiritually.
I remember living in Fort Worth, TX, for about 3 years after college and finding a great group of friends. There were about 8 of us girls. All single, played volleyball together, involved in ministry at church, went on trips together, and for the most part all of us turning bitter about being single. When God eventually moved me from TX to the Kansas City Baptist Temple in KC, MO, I realized I needed to be biblically discipled and grow in maturity in my walk with the Lord. My desire and thinking needed to change from “When am I going to be married so my Grandma will stop asking me about it?” 😊 to “God, I want YOU to be preeminent in my life and find contentment only in YOU!”
Praise the Lord, He did just that! I wasn’t obsessed with it anymore or bitter. I couldn’t get enough of what God was doing in my life or where He had me - I was loving every bit of it! Then, when I least expected it… I met Kenneth Preston Morgan. And we’ll live happily ever after!
For those married, we can get very distracted by our spouses. Kenny told me early on before we were married, “You will never be first in my life.” (so romantic, huh?!) Then he continued to say, “God is always first for me.” I get it. And am thankful for that. We heard a quote from the late Adrian Rogers who said, “Spouses make great mates but lousy gods.” So true! It is hard to not have many expectations from our spouse as if we should be the center of their universe. It becomes all about us. We think they should meet our every need - and desire.
Should I dare say our children can be distractions as well? Probably even more than our spouse. It blows my mind the way children can become like idols in our lives and we bow to every wish and command they express. They rule us instead of us training and leading them into a right, healthy relationship with God the Father. We can allow them to rob us of some precious, needful, strengthening time with the Lord. It doesn’t have to be 2 hours every day. But what truth - or little nugget - does God want you to meditate on for the day?
I remember when Ken and Aubree were about 3 & 4 years old, after we had Mother’s Day and then Father’s Day shortly after. They said, “When is it gonna be Kids’ Day?” To which I replied, “Uh, EVERY day is Kids’ Day.” 😊 We have that selfish nature at such a young age, right? And it takes a lot of training and discipline to come out from under the thought that the world does not revolve around us.
I believe the #1 distracting relationship, though, is actually with ourselves. We can be so enamored with our own lives, can’t we? Whether it’s our family, our job, our ministry, our body image - you name it. When any of these come before the Lord Jesus Christ, it can be disastrous. And there are so many good aspects of each of those topics:
We need to love our family. But not at the expense of ignoring Who God is (or should be) in our lives. Luke 14:26
We need to work, if we’re supporting just ourselves (wives, does your husband need your help with working a job?). But does this job keep you from being here with us at MBT each Sunday? Are you more concerned with climbing the corporate ladder than serving your family and growing in Christ?
God wants us to serve Him in ministry. But are you so busy in ministry that you are not being still to know He is God? Do you have a personal, healthy relationship with the Lord?
We should take care of our own bodies. But are you so obsessed or discontent with your body that you are harming yourself? Or comparing yourself to others? Beware of the negative aspects you are dealing with on social media. You may need to cut down your time you spend on there.
Forms of depression, discontentment, body image issues, workaholics, ministry junkies - these can all be considered very selfish traits. Because they all cause us to focus on ourselves! We become the center of our world instead of Christ ruling and reigning in our hearts. SQUIRREL! WE become the distraction!
I pray God shows you any area of your life that is not fully surrendered to Him, where He has been overruled and taken a back seat to something else that you have put before Him. They distract you from continuing to be a disciple indeed. Is He really imminent in your life? Col. 1:16-18 Or is it all about you and your desires? Your praise?
We know that discipleship is the process of the believer following Jesus Christ according to His word and being conformed to His image. We also know that it will cost us something to be a disciple of Christ. He wants Christlikeness! This may have to cost us some relationships - some separation. Or the lessening of a few relationships to put Him first. Let’s don’t play at this! Let’s be disciples/disciplers indeed ready to count the cost and make the Lord preeminent.
Lori Morgan is a member of the Discipleship Team at Midtown Baptist Temple