Week 39 2013 The Prime Directive

It seems like forty was the magical age where my health took a turn and I started a daily regimen of medication needed to extend and improve my life.  I was diagnosed with hypertension through hereditary channels, meaning that if I do not take my medication daily I put myself at severe risk of having a stroke.  That was twenty-four years ago.  Since then, there have been various maladies that have added various medications to my daily routine.  Most of them are taken once daily.  However, there is two that are taken twice a day, and one that is taken three times a day.  As frustrating as it is, without these medications I would likely have already either died or been debilitated because of the effects of aging and the natural progression of life that results in death, which, of course, we will do most anything to avoid.

As important as it is to maintain my daily regimen, I can be distracted causing me to miss taking my meds at their scheduled hour.  When this happens, my body reveals my indiscretion through the negative impacts the meds are designed to suppress.  Therefore, I take measures to keep me focused on these life-giving/improving measures.  I keep a pill box on my night stand, and I set out pills that I need to take before bed and soon after I wake up.  I also set alarms on my phone to remind me when it is time to take various medications.  Yet, even with these safeguards, I am sometimes distracted because of being involved in one project or another.  Therefore, my wife acts as another safety net, asking me if I have taken my meds.  She worries that I will feel myself being nagged.  But, that is not the case.  I am grateful that she cares enough to ask.

The world is full of distractions.  We are bombarded with them.  It can be very difficult to maintain our focus on those things that are truly important.  I’m reminded of the Family Circus comic strip segment tracing the little boy’s distracted journey taking him through all sorts of places while attempting to reach his goal that could have been reached in a short period of time through a direct route.  We have all seen this happen in real life.  As parents we are constantly reminding our children to stay focused.  The television is turned off, music is forbidden, and friends are not allowed while our grandchildren are doing their homework.  Distractions are held to a minimum to help assure their success.  Those who would purposely place distractions in their way are not true friends.  In fact, they are enemies, intended or not.

In my Christian walk my primary focus is on the Lord Jesus.  His primary directive for my life is to seek and save the lost.  There are various strategies offered to keep me focused.  Daily Bible study, regular church attendance, active participation in related activities, and making myself accountable all help to keep me focused on Jesus.  My love for Him helps to maintain my focus on seeking and saving the lost, for that is my prime directive.  I need these safeguards, because Satan is always looking for ways to distract me.  There are challenges to my faith every day.  If I am not actively engaged in the aforementioned activities, my faith could easily be weakened.  Over time, if not checked, my faith could crumble and be lost.  Realizing the consequences of no faith, I take measures to keep myself from being distracted.  It is imperative to remember my first love, that being Jesus, nurturing that love and keeping it strong.  If someone challenges my faith, it is equally important that I have a ready answer to that challenge.  When I don’t have that answer, there are others within the family of God who are able to help me find that answer.  We are not left on our own.

What about the second part of our Christian walk?  If we are maintaining the first aspect, focusing on Jesus, we know how to fulfill the second.  Seeking and saving the lost will become second nature, no pun intended.  What could possibly distract us?  Everything!  However, there are some distractions that disguised as good things.  Scripture tells us that Satan masquerades as an angel of light.  Thus, issues that are important can be used to distract us from the prime directive.  I lean toward believing in a literal six-day creation, and find much of the current thought on evolution to be offensive and an attack on my faith.  But, I wonder if Satan isn’t using this issue to distract me from fulfilling the prime directive?  When I have the opportunity to discuss the gospel with an unbeliever, I would rather not discuss evolution versus creation, gay marriage, abortion, or any other worthwhile topic that has the potential to distract us from the prime directive.  These are all topics of which I hold passionate opinions, and they make good conversation with other Christians.  We may be able to come up with helpful strategies to overcome.  There is nothing wrong with being proactive in matters that are clearly unbiblical if done so in view of the prime directive.  Satan is a master of distraction.  The best way to keep him from gaining the upper hand is to stay focused on the prime directive, not being led astray while promoting the gospel to the lost.