Distractions That Can Defeat Your Purpose
When it comes to searching for your life’s purpose, there are a lot of resources available. A lot of them, too, will help you a great deal. But did you know that before we start knowing what our purpose is, we have to rid ourselves of distractions around us first? Distractions are nothing more but the one thing that hinders anything we have set our hearts out to do. Find out what are the common distractions that may be holding you back from pursuing your God-given purpose in life.
Lessen Distractions to Know God's Purpose
1. Social Media
Social media has a lot of benefits to offer. It is not always a culprit when things go wrong. For one, it can be used as a very good learning tool aside from a platform where you can connect with family and friends. But, using it the wrong way can possibly give you more disadvantages than advantages.Let’s cite a couple of instances on how social media becomes a distraction:
- It consumes not less than 80% of your time every day – more browsing time but less time for self-reflection.
- It breeds negative emotions if our hearts are left unguarded – greed, discontentment, self-pity, envy, jealousy, pride, selfishness, etc.
- It encourages more detractors than followers – feeling negative about a bad post and the retaliation happened by making a post of the same nature fueled by anger.
2. Career
The standards of this world involve being in the ranks of worldly achievements and successes. Before we discuss this in detail, we can use this verse as our guiding thought:
“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” – 1 John 2:16
This is a temptation that is too hard for most to resist. Personally, it used to be one of my greatest strongholds. And yet, thank God, I was spared from the worldly mentality of meeting this world’s standards just so I will be accepted in the society.The downside of this, though, is that nonconformity will require sacrifices that only the toughest of hearts can ever make. The self is usually the greatest enemy and becoming a divergent in order to obey God means carrying your own cross and carrying it for as long as you can. Possibly, this will be a lifetime commitment.The question, then, is this, “Are you prepared to make that sacrifice”? If you’re having doubts, this verse might give you the motivation to do the right thing and align your perspective with God’s:
“Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” – Romans 12:12
3. Wrong Motives
This is partly connected to the second distraction, career. When we are vying towards worldly achievement and successes that God already told us are not important to Him, we might have to do a “heart checkup.”Consider your motives for pursuing an ambition or a dream. Is it because you want to fulfill God’s will and plans for your life? Or is it about satisfying your selfish desires and wants? A good question to ask ourselves is this, “What God can benefit from this endeavor that I am currently pursuing?”
Related Post: Inspire a Shared Vision
Yet another question to add to that is this, “Will this endeavor for the greater good of the many or only myself?”And finally, “Am I giving God the glory if I pursue this?”Knowing your true purpose in life means seeking for God’s wisdom and listening to His counsel all the time. Even if it means asking the same question every day: “God, what is my purpose in this world?” In my experience, when God finally speaks and instructs, the first thing He requires is this – evaluate the motives of your heart. Next, He will expose your weaknesses. And lastly, He will give you ways to overcome them and what you need to let go. But all of these come with a valuable price – sacrifices (our own crosses), commitment (faith), and consistency (discipline).