It’s been getting a lot of press over the past couple of years. More and more of us are multi-tasking behind the wheel . . . and it’s getting a little dangerous. The old “10 and 2” two hands on the steering wheel is increasingly becoming one hand at 12 or 6 and the other hand all over the place . . . holding a phone to our ears . . . quickly responding to a text . . . putting on a bit of makeup . . . stuffing that burger in our mouths. Not casting stones . . . I’m guilty (not so much of the phone, texting, or makeup . . . but a burger every once in awhile). And who hasn’t been next to that vehicle with the distracted driver? Often, even before you see what they’re doing behind the wheel, you know something’s not being attended to because the vehicle starts to drift. Kind of that way with the things of God as well . . .

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.   (Hebrews 2:1 ESV)

The writer to the Hebrews is contending for a group of believers who have heard and believed the Word . . . who have started to run the race . . . but are now getting distracted. For many of them, they are spending more time looking in the “rear view mirror” of the religious system and life they left rather than staying focused on the road in front of them. Doubts are setting in as they focus on the fact that they have left the popular for the unpopular . . . have left the majority opinion and adopted the position of the minority . . . have moved from the ranks of the multitude on “the wide road” and are experiencing the counter currents of trying to navigate the narrow way (Matt. 7:13-14). And they’re starting to drift . . . leaning again towards the shadows rather than the substance . . . being drawn again to the ritual rather than the reality . . . fading towards the temporal rather than staying the course toward the permanent (thanks Bill MacDonald for the contrasts).

And to this “distracted driving” the writer to the Hebrews cries, “Pay attention!” Stay focused, keep you eyes on Jesus . . . the fulfillment of the shadows . . . the reality behind the ritual . . . the King of kings forever. Put all your effort and concentration to keeping the things of Christ near to you . . . fixate on the wonder of His Person . . . meditate often on the amazing grace of His salvation . . . speak often of the hope that lies before . . . draw near often within the holy of holies offering worship to Him who is alone worthy. Pay attention . . . otherwise there’s the danger of “the drift”.

I’m guessing the number of people who wake up one morning and consciously make the decision to stop pursuing the things of the kingdom are relatively few . . . my bet is that for most who disengage it is a slow drift . . . caused by “distracted driving”. The focus becomes the trial . . . the prize becomes the wealth . . . the blessing is the happiness I can know here and now . . . the priorities look a lot like the priorities of the world. And the reading of the Word becomes more superficial and eventually skipped altogether . . . and meeting with God’s people just doesn’t fit into the weekend schedule . . . and fellowship with God is no longer nurtured but somehow assumed by default. Nothing terribly overt . . . just checking a text . . . putting on a bit of makeup . . . enjoying a burger. But enough to start the drift.

Oh how I need to keep first things first. How I need to be disciplined in seeking first the kingdom of God. How I need to keep my eyes on the road.

Not that I can power my way to the destination . . . that is a work of grace . . . by the Spirit of God . . . through the Word of God . . . in the Son of God. But I can seek to keep myself on the road. To pay attention to the things I have heard . . . to stay focused on those things which are being revealed by the Spirit . . . to hold fast — a “10 and 2” two-handed grip — on the things I have believed . . . lest I drift away.

I need to “put down the phone” . . . to resist the temptation to text . . . to trust Him to satisfy my hunger and let go of the burger . . . to lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares me and run with endurance the race that is set before me (Heb. 12:1).

By His grace . . . for His glory . . .