Out of Sync

In 2nd Timothy 2, the apostle Paul encourages young Timothy to teach people what's important:
(14) solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness

So many distractions in the world today - and we have to be diligent, laser-focused, on what's important - following Christ's teachings, holding fast to the word of God.   It's telling that Paul refers to wrangling about words and avoiding empty chatter.   If we're not careful, we can sacrifice the meaning for the mundane and become distracted in our pursuit of the things of God.   May we be passionate about upholding His truth and being an effective witness, displaying His character in the world.

Jesus talked about the way that we can rely on the Holy Spirit to show us the truth and to illustrate to us what is accurate and important.  We read in John chapter 16:
13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth ; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak ; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

Washington is preparing for another multitude to gather on the National Mall, as a predicted 600,000 people are going to be assembling for the annual March for Life.  That's the prediction from the Washington Examiner, which, for those keeping score at home, would rival the number of people that turned out for President Obama's second Inauguration.

“We're expecting a big crowd,” said Jeanne Monahan of March for Life, quoted by the NBC affiliate in Washington. “We've seen lots of markers that would show that. Our hotel block sold out a month in advance of what it's ever sold out, and we've had more media requests than ever before, so we expect really record-breaking crowds.”

And, while we cannot accurately predict the crowd or even know how many showed up, since the capital police do not provide estimates, one thing you can be sure of - there won't be nearly the coverage in the mainstream media for this significant event.   And, while some are trumpeting the latest poll that shows that 7-in-10 Americans do not favor overturning Roe v. Wade, you also cannot ignore a similar percentage favoring some restrictions on abortion.    

It's an issue that you cannot ignore - I believe it was Bishop Harry Jackson who has described the life issue as the one which trumps all others.  It's been said that if you get the life issue right, perhaps you will have a Biblical position on a host of issues.    So, while the media ignores the event and evangelicals could face a tendency to get caught up in the crowd size rather than the cause, we have to remember to not get lured by the distractions.

In a time where more attention is focused on Beyonce rather than budgets or Benghazi, the message of the right to life and the truth of God's Word can get lost in the cultural soup.   And, as the whole measure of attention focused on whether the young singer lip-synced her performance of the National Anthem shows, I think, a lack of concern for what's important.   Honestly, does it really matter?    I don't think there was any dishonesty or deception here - it's actually proven to be a common occurrence.    It's so easy to get distracted - that's why rely on the Holy Spirit to show us what's important - in our lives and in the culture, so that we don't get caught up in the unnecessary.