Joshua 24:15 (NRSV) “Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua was addressing the Israelites at Shechem before he established a covenant with them. The Israelites did not seem to be catching on to the fact that following the Torah and obeying God was the way to go. They can be cut some slack for the golden calf - they did not have the tablets yet. However, they were only cut some slack because Moses persuaded God not to destroy them. But they had to understand that they could not worship other gods.
Despite Joshua’s warning they continued to give into the temptations that were all around them. They continued to stray after periods of righteous living, when the judge - and later a king - died. Because of the continual recurrence of periods of disobedience, they were stuck with having to get along with other people in the land that they were to be given but had not yet conquered. Due of course to their lack of adherence to the Torah. They paid too much attention the other gods and distractions. Not just other gods, as such, but other things that the Lord had warned them against worshiping or coveting.
Which I think we still do today. Even after centuries, we are still straying from our faith. Even if there are more temptations in the form of the internet, ipods, email, and video games, just to name a few. Cell phones readily come to mind. We did not need to talk as much before cell phones. But now we feel the need to constantly stay in touch.
I have no reliable source for my supposition, but I think that there are relationships that have been destroyed as a result of cell phones. There seems to be this expectation of instant contact. People need their time alone. If not alone, away from the family or significant other. Cell phones takes that time away. As well as email. As a writer, I get distracted when I see “I have mail.” I have to check my email to see if it is important. Usually, it is not.
People let distractions rule their lives. Our distractions become excuses for not doing what we really should be doing. Listening to the Lord is one of those things. If we were confronted, we would say something like “I had other things on my mind,” or “I’ve had to many other things to do.” As if those are legitimate excuses.
Does it ever occur to us that if we took time to pray and listen, our lives might be different than just bouncing from distraction to distraction. At the very least we would have a quiet moment at intervals. Quiet moments are rare these days. Life might also calm down. Not literally, but through having a more positive outlook.
You would think with all the examples in the Bible of the Israelites going astray, being saved by God, and then going astray again, we would have figured it out by the year 2007. But we simply keep on inventing and buying into more distractions. Will you be one of the masses and shrug it off with excuses, or will you be one of the steadfast believers who grabs quiet moments with the Lord and lives each day with confidence? I’m working on the latter. The Lord never said it would be easy.
Peace be with you.
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