Goodbye Distraction: Learning to Live in the Present MomentSample

So far in this reading plan, we have looked at how our desire for accomplishment and accumulation without boundaries can distract us from being fully present to God, others, and even the condition of our own soul.

Today, we will look at one final distraction that, in some ways, is the most subtle of the three we have considered: Acceptance.

God has created each of us to be in relationships (See Psalm 27:8). First and foremost, relationship with Him, and relationship with the people that He has strategically placed in close proximity to us. On some level, even the most introverted among us feel a deep desire to be known and accepted by others for who they really are.

The age of social media we live in has provided us with new ways to connect with old friends and the opportunity to make new friends who don't live nearby. Proximity is no longer a barrier to being known (at least on some level) by others. For many, this can be a wonderful thing. However, as we spend more and more time on social media, the number of virtual friends we have continues to grow, with many people having hundreds, if not thousands, of virtual connections.

On the surface, having a growing list of virtual friends seems harmless. With God weaving into our DNA the desire to be known by others, how can more and more friends be bad? However, studies repeatedly show that a person can't keep up with more than 150 relationships simultaneously. Beyond this number, relationships grow thinner and thinner, with very few people genuinely knowing us and vice versa. With so many virtual friends comes a heavy burden to know and be known. We feel pressure to keep up with more people than is possible. And so, the average person spends countless hours each week "keeping up" with these virtual friends. All this time spent in the virtual world makes it very difficult to remain fully present in the moment. Our time with God gets cut shorter and shorter. And our satisfaction with the natural world becomes a distant second place to the enticement of the virtual world "out there."

So what can we do to prevent our most important relationships, even our relationship with God, from becoming thin?

#1 - Face-to-Face Meeting: prioritize the people with whom you live, work, and play as you keep them in close proximity. Focus on being fully present to the people right in front of us. Create a habit of inviting someone to lunch or coffee to learn their story and share yours. (See 3 John 1:14)

#2 - Community or Small Groups: Get involved in a local group with other people who are chasing hard after Jesus. Study the Word together. Serve together. And take small steps each time you gather to share openly about what God is doing in your life. (See Hebrews 10:25)

Take some time today to wrestle with the following questions: When it comes to our relationships, have we unknowingly overlooked and/or traded a small number of intimate friendships with people who live within close proximity for a large number of thin virtual friendships with people who live out there? How has the pressure (and the time required) to keep up with the daily happenings of many virtual friends affected our capacity to be fully present to God, others, and even the condition of our souls?

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