Distractions

I finally joined Facebook on Sunday. Within minutes I found friends from church, fellow members of Girls, God and the Good Life, and friends from writer’s conferences. Three long lost cousins contacted me. I found my son (we aren’t friends yet—I’m respecting his unspoken desire to not have Mom’s face on his profile). I also found something else. A new distraction!

Suddenly I want to check in every time I sit down at the computer. When I check e-mail and see that someone has posted a comment on my wall, sent me a message, or confirmed my invitation to be friends I want to click right over. Now I understand why Christian seems addicted to MySpace and Facebook. It IS addictive. By Tuesday I had to verbally forbid myself to look at Facebook until I’d finished my work for the day. I fell off the wagon after fifteen minutes. Then I got back on.

It’s easy to make excuses for why we should give in when temptation hits.
“If I don’t reply to her message now, I’ll forget and she’ll think I don’t care.”
“It’ll only take a few minutes.” Yeah, a few minutes times how many times per day?
“I’m socializing with my brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s fellowship!”

Not that these social networks are bad. I just found that I already need to be careful. I need to choose to NOT check my e-mail if I think it’ll lure me somewhere else. I need to remind myself that if I don’t open a message it’ll remain “new,” so I won’t forget to answer it once I do have spare time. I need to focus on my goals for the day and how I think God wants me to spend it.

Life is so full of distractions—social sites, television, the phone, hanging out with friends when we have work to do. What are some of yours? How do you fight against them? Today, ask God to keep you tuned in to what He wants you to get done.