United Church of God

Letter From Devin Schulz - January 18, 2019

Letter From Devin Schulz

January 18, 2019

Greetings!

A study done in 2014, published by Steelcase, highlighted a growing issue in the workplace - a lack of focus. The study showed that nearly 50% of workers report not being able to concentrate easily with distractions occurring every three minutes. This totaled to an average of 86 minutes lost each day. While this seems like perhaps a small amount for an individual, based on national averages, this adds up to over $10 trillion in lost time each week, in the USA alone.

While the implications of maintaining focus for our work lives may be profound, it is even more the case with our Spiritual lives. To highlight this point, we have the example of Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Her distraction is described as "much serving." She was dutifully serving the guests in her home (which in most cases we would deem honorable), but that was not what was important for her to do at the time. Her distraction took her away from hearing the words of eternal life, which should have been her ultimate focus. In contrast, her sister Mary recognized this and put her energy towards the better endeavor.

How do we counteract our tendency to get distracted in the same way as Martha? There are two broad approaches we can take. The first is to develop a filter of what is going on around us. This means training ourselves to be able to have distractions all around us and not lose focus from our ultimate goals. The second option is to avoid all distractions completely. Novelist Franz Kafka once said, "I need solitude for my writing; not 'like a hermit' -- that wouldn't be enough -- but like a dead man." For him to not lose sight of the task at hand, he eliminated anything around him that could even potentially draw his attention.

Since we cannot live our lives like dead people, our energy is best served at honing our filter to better serve us in seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Those things that do not bring us closer to that goal need to be placed on the back-burner, possibly even forgotten altogether. In this regard, God inspired Paul to comment in Philippians 3:1-16. This whole section really shows the focus we need to have every day in striving to attain perfection. Paul even says that he would willingly give up ALL things (and consider them "rubbish" in contrast) to gain Christ. That is a description of the complete focus required to maintain our dedication to God.

So, when potential distractions come, we must strive to learn to filter them through our "Kingdom focus" and hold fast only to those things that serve to further that purpose. I pray that we will be refocused during this Holy time.

Happy Sabbath to you all,

Devin Schulz