“Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.” — Ephesians 4:14 (NLT)
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Carlos Santana is now a 40-year-old first baseman and catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He’s one of the longest-tenured position players in the major leagues, but could have easily given up in frustration when he was in the minors. He spent parts of six seasons in the minors before developing into a regular at the highest level in 2010.
He’s a switch hitter who rarely strikes out and is always a home-run threat. His defensive skills are still excellent. His best years were with Cleveland, when he helped them make a World Series run in 2016, but he continues to be a valuable player for the Diamondbacks today.
As we’ve seen in Santana, in order to be successful long-term, we must put away distractions, focus on what really matters, and work toward a higher cause.
The disciples got to learn from the best when they chose to follow Jesus, and through the Scriptures, we also get the benefit of the best Teacher showing us how to distinguish between things that don’t matter and really important issues. His Sermon on the Mount leaves more than enough for us to get started as He focuses on the principles of the Kingdom of God and teaches ethics, values and character.
In contrast, the Pharisees and Sadducees made a big deal about unimportant stuff and gave people a lot of unnecessary stress trying to follow their burdensome regulations. Instead of helping prepare people for eternity, the Pharisees focused on getting their way and drawing attention to themselves; thus, Jesus told people to beware of being misled by the Pharisees (Matthew 23:4-6). Eternal acceptance with God is much more important than impressing people.
Jesus urges us to develop a long view and avoid being shortsighted. When the crowd thought more about filling their bellies than feeding their souls, Jesus spoke about bread from above (John 6:27). Jesus fed thousands of people bread in a barren place, and they probably started thinking Jesus would always give them everything they wanted. But it’s more important to give ourselves to God in service, and in so doing, we surrender to the Lord as He graciously sustains us and gives us life forevermore in Heaven in spite of our sinfulness.
Jesus instructs us to get our priorities in order (Matthew 6:33), and while that is simple, it isn’t always easy. Do you find yourself getting caught up in the daily grind — ultimately the unimportant stuff — and overlooking the foundational principles Jesus left as our breadcrumb trail, our navigational aid for life? It is so easy to do, and is actually part of the enemy’s tactics to distract us.
But God wants us grounded in His ways, so lift your eyes up above your circumstances and let Him lead you to a full life.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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