Cultural Distractions

The other day, I reminded my son not to speed when driving, even if he is running late. He asked me: "What do you consider speeding?"

I replied: "The speed limit, of course...it's not MY opinion. It's the law." 

He explained to me that everyone goes faster, and so he does too.

I think this is how we lose clarity about things. We adapt to what others around us are doing, and cultural mores become the biggest influence on our standards and values. And the further the distance between us and God, the more distracted we become.

Do we consider some people to be 'closer to God' than others?

"Through Him (Christ) we share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father." (16-18 MSG)

My son was describing his college classroom. It's a big auditorium and you can choose to sit anywhere you like—as far away, or as close as you want. Most of the students use laptops in class. My son says that if you are sitting anywhere but the front row, you notice that most of the laptops have one tab open for 'class work' and other tabs open to Facebook, Twitter, and even online shopping sites!

We all have a choice to be closer to God but sometimes we have too many tabs open. Our attention is divided among many things. We choose to detach, to be disrespectful to our Instructor, to not be completely present. If we are not in the 'Front Row', even if we are trying to pay attention, we can be distracted by the choices of others in front of us.