DISTRACTIONS: BEWARE OF THEM

Now and then, there is always something "trending" in the media: something that is the centre of everyone’s attention. It could be a war in Iran, a new virus from China or a tragic event in the country. There is no shortage of these "burning issues". Just the other day, I came across a report about one such concerning matter that is currently affecting the community of my residence. You would not believe how it provoked my spirit. In fact, I was so stirred to such a point that I resolved to do something about it – immediately. I planned to start with a long, well-researched response on my social media page, just to spread further awareness about this problem. It's safe to say that I was deeply concerned. Fortunately, I gave my emotions a good two days just to think it through. Well, it turns out that was the wisest thing to do for my Christian soul because I realised that the so-called thing of concern had nothing to do with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Just a distraction from the real Christian mission; being used of God to bring His kingdom on earth.

If I was one of the devil's advisers, perhaps I would counsel him to target the sons of the Kingdom, and to submit to them a long dossier with a list of all the problems that are troubling our society, and impress upon their hearts to start a national campaign, rally in the street, have every day meetings with the mayor, the minister of human affairs and even the president himself. If possible, I would advise them to even form a political party, be passionate about it and spend all the time trying to correct these social ills. To some, I would convince them that their favourite sports team is the key to their happiness in this world. I would tell them to show maximum support for that team and to never miss a stadium attendance.

You see, everyone was born to do something. Our brains cannot be idle; we have to live for something, get busy with that, and fight for that. We were designed for a purpose. Therefore, instead of using that purpose to do something that contributes to the wellbeing of souls, we have diverted that passion to things which, according to me, are a complete waste of time. I mean, why would a redeemed of the Lord be utterly consumed with Arsenal FC, or with demonstrating on the street fighting for the environment, or with screaming behind a political leader? All these are distractions; very dangerous ones.

Therefore, the core message of this article is to ask my brethren: what are we living for? What is the mandate of the church? What are you supposed to be passionate about? I will tell you: that the Name of the Lord may be hallowed and His Kingdom come upon the whole earth. Let us allow the world to do what the world knows. But us, let us be busy with our Father’s business.

You see, it’s not my intention to diminish the problems of our society, and that there are people who fight for them. Obviously, climate change is a problem, and someone has to fight for that. Certainly, the immigration crisis is an issue, and somebody has to do something about it. Sure, the World Cup is upon us, and someone has to sleep in the stadium. Definitely, corruption is bad, and someone has to stand against it. – just not a believer! That is why we have parliament and world political associations for this and that. We were called for something different. I once wrote something entitled Awakening Dead Consciences. Where I stressed the point that the Christian job is to rescue this dying world by awakening their consciences into the reality of God; the reality of their present condition of spiritual death. Why then are we being distracted from this? Why is it that even our churches have become an echo chamber of the world media, where people come to church to get the same thing they get on the BBC? Are we not supposed to feed our people something unique; Biblical truth, straight from heaven? Out of concern, I have also spoken about our Social Media use. Why are we busy pushing content that has no contribution at all to the glory of God and the eternal wellbeing of souls?

Lest you misunderstand, the Church can certainly speak the truth concerning any burning matter in the society. Yet there is a difference between a church that talks about politics once in a while and that church that is outright political–completely replacing the Christian agenda with fighting for the right to vote, for example. Also, this does not mean that we must not be involved in politics as believers; instead, we infiltrate these spaces with Gospel truth.

The summary of the matter: there are enough issues in our community sphere to keep us busy for the rest of our lives, completely taking us away from that which matters most: the Gospel mission. Therefore, look at your life and be wary of these distractions. There are enough Bible verses to learn, so many believers to disciple, plenty of windows to help, a lot of prisoners to visit, too much sick people to pray for and most importantly, there are enough souls to evangelise. Let’s get busy with these, my dear comrades, and we will not have time for all these other worldly fanatics. Lest we forget, life is short, and our bodies will soon fail us. Let’s live well, fight the correct battles and find the right hills to die on. Salute.

Sinothi Ncube

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