One wrong note...

The following guest post is shared by Trisha. Visit her business here. Or her ministry here.

I read a story that some years ago musicians were noting that errand boys in certain parts of London all whistled out of tune as they went about their work. They finally discovered that the bells of the Westminster were slightly out of tune. Something had gone wrong with the chimes and they were discordant. The boys did not know there was anything wrong with the bells, and totally unconsciously they had copied their pitch.

We tend to copy who we associate with. We borrow thoughts or phrases from books we read, programs we listen to, friends we hang out with, often without even realizing it. And we wonder why a little bit of worldly influence isn’t good for us? If we become tolerant of even one wrong note, pretty soon, we won’t even flinch when we’re singing the entire song out of tune.

The sin of worldliness especially threatens our fellowship with God. We have to be so careful of the distractions of the world. And not everything that distracts us is necessarily sin, in and of itself. But if it takes our eyes off of God, it becomes a sin.

Colossian 3:1-3 says, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

What things of the world are distracting you today? As I examine my own life and think of my personal distractions, it is almost easier to list the things in my life that don’t distract me!

I have three kids. My day is constantly one distraction after another. "Mama I need this...can you get me this...Reece made a mad face at me...Carson hit me...Olivia stole my toy"...then the phone rings. It’s one thing after another! Am I saying that seeing to my kids needs, even if they are distracting me from something else, is a sin? No! Of course not. That’s my responsibility to train and care for them. But what I am saying is that I, personally, get so caught up in the busy-ness. I get so preoccupied with the concerns and the constant doing that “thought wise” I waste a lot of time that I could be spending in prayer or singing worship songs or reading my Bible or listening to the Bible on CD, instead I’m just going through motions. I’m not doing anything blatant that someone would necessarily point out as sin or worldliness, but I’m letting things distract me from working on my relationship with God. This can be applied to anything that takes away from time spent with God. It could be TV, music, sports, shopping, or work...whatever it is that is consuming your time, that is taking your eyes off of God.

We, as a society, are just entirely too preoccupied. We start being too busy to do our daily devotions, soon we’re too busy to go on Wednesday night to church and then it’s the Women’s studies, and before we know it we miss a Sunday. We don’t become “in the world” overnight. We don’t jump on the bandwagon of rebellion in a second. Usually, it’s a gradual course. Worldliness comes in many shapes and sizes. Satan doesn’t just throw the temptation of a big sin in our face in the beginning. He starts with the small stuff. He tempts us with one wrong note. Just like those boys in London.