At the Root of Distraction

I order a medium black coffee at the speaker. My total flashes on the screen in red digital letters. Thank you, please pull ahead. I look up and say hello to the cashier who stands by the open window, typing on the screen of his phone. The cold blast of air conditioning pours out of the window and into the hot humid air, causing the corners of my dollar bills to ruffle. He absentmindedly grabs my money and hands me my change. He does it all with his eyes glued to his cell phone screen and never once looks up.

I buy our meat at the market down the street. I place my packs of meat on the belt and the cashier flicks the switch, moving them down the conveyor belt toward the register. I say hello and he grunts while looking over my head toward something or someone behind me. The register beeps as he slides my selections over the scanner. He looks at the customers behind me, at the clock, at the door. He barks out my total, I slide my card, and he thrusts my receipt at me and gives me the standard “have a nice day”.

 We take long walks through our neighborhood. I pass a girl sitting on the front steps of her house. The space between us is less than two yards. She is tapping on the screen of her cell phone. I say “hello, your flowers are beautiful!” And her eyes never leave her cell phone. We meet a woman walking towards us. Little Theo looks up and says HI in his sweet little voice. Her eyes never even flit our way for one second.

 How can we be surrounded by so many people so close to us while simultaneously keeping ourselves entirely alone on our own little islands? At times I am so desperate for connection that when I finally get a friendly cashier in the check-out at Meijer I find myself in all kinds of personal and lengthy conversations - about kids, about husbands, about the joys of working in customer service, about life.

Sometimes I really do just want to be kind and ask you how your day is, and would you just please slow down and look at me as another human being here in front of you in this moment? Because I’d really like to know how you are doing and just share this moment together, is that so much to ask?!

 Let me be clear – I am guilty of this too. I check my facebook while I wait in line at Wal-Mart. I may occasionally text while in the drive-thru. I cringe to think of how often you could probably catch me distractedly browsing on my cell phone while my husband is talking to me. I am at my worst when my kiddos are clinging to my leg, begging for mommy’s attention, waiting for mommy to detangle herself from the online world. I don’t want to imagine how much I have missed by simply not really seeing the people right in front of me.

 It speaks to something deeper than just distraction though. It speaks to our self-centeredness. It speaks to the fact that we are culturally conditioned on a daily basis to think that we don’t need anyone else. It speaks to our own sense of self-importance at the cost of real relationship with the people around us. It speaks to the incredible disconnect of much of the human race from one another. It speaks to our hard hearts, our disbelief, and our disobedience of Jesus’ command to love.

 Before I climb on the pedestal and critique the world today and all of these text-messaging face-paging distracted fools who only care about themselves, I should probably remember a few things: 1) I am guilty of it too (see above), 2) There was a time when I didn’t even see this as a problem and 3) God has changed the way I look at people, He has given me a new heart for people that I never have had before.

 I want to focus in on #3. Here is a thought on this from the Word of God by the prophet Ezekiel:

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”  Ezekiel 11:19

 This was God’s promise to restore Israel, and this is God’s promise to restore us, today, here and now.  Do you still have a heart of stone? Do you continue to view the world around you through the lens of cynicism? There are all kinds of reasons I do this – fear, pride, and scars from past hurts. But it mostly boils down to our lack of love for God, without which we cannot possibly hope to love or even notice the people around us. We desperately need the work He does in us, and the work that Jesus already did on the cross.

I am a seed-planter. A small interaction with someone at a store that may only last for a minute may not even seem worth the effort, but I always try to remember that I’m not entitled to see the long-term results of anything I do for God. My role is to try to be obedient to God and take the best care of each moment which He places in front of me. Every small kindness can be used in big ways by God to point someone to the possibility of Christ crucified for them, too. Oh that He would make us aware of all the opportunities we have every day!

 The really great thing is that while I might get ignored by the drive-thru attendant, the cashier, and countless others whom I encounter on a daily basis, I don’t have to beg for God’s attention. He knows what I need before I ask, and I do not have to wonder if He heard me because He is trying to play Angry Birds on His tablet while I am talking to Him. He doesn’t have more important things to do, He is not restlessly tapping His fingers, waiting for me to finish so that he can check his email.

 My Heavenly Father gives me His full undivided attention, on a deeper level than I am even aware or capable of putting into words. He invites me into His presence to pray and to listen and to rest. He feeds me with His Word and allows me to drink deeply from His goodness until I am refreshed. He sends His Spirit to guide me and teach me. In doing so, he replaces my hard heart of stone with a heart from Himself, and makes it so that I am actually capable of caring about rude people who ignore me.

 My natural (cynical) response to people : What is wrong with everyone? People are crazy…

God transforms my heart of stone response into his likeness: How can I be kind to this person?

 Oh the things we receive from Him!  Isn’t it delightful? All we have to do is ask, come into His presence, and let Him change us.

 Lord, this week point out to us opportunities for kindness, opportunities which may make a bigger difference than we will ever know. Lord wake us up and make us aware! Help us be the people who point others to you. Destroy our hearts of stone and put in their place hearts which are receptive to you, to your Word and to your command to love you and love the people around us.