Loving Large: The Distracted Life

[Click here to listen to this sermon online.]

Matthew 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had left the Sadducees speechless, they met together. One of them, a legal expert, tested him. "Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?" He replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being,and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands."

Jesus was really starting to get under the skin of the religious authorities. The Sadducees had been thwarted in their attempts to get him to fall into the legal traps that they set, so the Pharisees decided to have a go. "Which commandment is the greatest?" a lawyer asks Jesus.

This passage reminds me of a popular scene in the movie City Slickers where Trail Boss Curly asks cheeky advertising executive Mitch what he knows about the secret of life:

Click here if video does not show.

We lead distracted lives. We are pulled in many different directions. Family, career, friends, media, social media, society, commitments to various organizations...so many different things pull at our time, our talent, our checking account. Expectations abound, and we, too, wonder what the "one thing" is that we should be focusing on.

Jesus makes this "one thing" clear: Love the Lord you God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself. Do this, and everything else will be clear. 

His words are easy to understand. But living this truth is much more difficult. Amidst all of the demands and distractions of our life, how can we truly put God first?

To answer this, it's helpful to first consider what it is that you are putting first in your life. What is the thing that you cannot fail at? Is it your job? Your family? Your volunteer commitments? What is the thing (or things) that you will drop everything and rush to save when there is a crisis, because you have to do this thing well.

Do you feel the same way about your relationship with God? If not, what do you think this kind of devotion to God would look like for you? What are you putting first in your life, and how would your priorities shift if this space was occupied by your love of God and love of neighbor?

My wise friend Brenda Wier once told me that when she finds herself stressed out about some petty thing, she asks herself, "What does this have to do with bringing in God's Kingdom?" This argument, this "dropped ball," this problem, this stress - is it really important in the great scheme of what God has called us to do and be? Does obsessing over this really help me love God and love my neighbor?

The Monday Connection:

• Make a list of your priorities. Can you number them? Is there something that will always get your full attention, because you can't let that ball drop?
• Where is your relationship with God on this list? 
• If loving God and loving neighbor isn't currently #1, what would your life look like if you moved it there? 
• What distracts you from keeping God first in your life? What can you do about this?