[Best of 2011] #9 Is Angry Birds Keeping Me From God?

By Allen White

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.Matthew 6:31-34

Our world is a distracting place. We are inundated by inputs. We can watch movies streamed to our phones. We can’t find many restaurants without giant TVs on the wall. When all else fails, we always have Angry Birds to keep us occupied, except the game needs more levels. I’m just sayin’.

We can fill our lives to the brim and running over with things to keep ourselves occupied. Sometimes we confuse possessions and pleasure with our purpose in life. God created things for us to enjoy. But, these things are not our reason for living.

We will become tired of our wardrobes. We will grow weary of eating the same old thing. But, fortunately, there is an endless variety to choose from. Our worry is not from lacking what we need. Our worry is over the plethora of choices. But, chasing these things is like walking on a treadmill. We expend a lot of energy, but don’t actually get anywhere.

Many Christians, especially those of the glass half full variety, believe that we must give up everything that we like to truly serve God. The implication is that obedience to God only gives us the chewy, cardboard fiber of life. If we think that, then we’ve missed what Jesus said.

Jesus doesn’t want us to live bland and boring lives. He came to give us abundant lives (John 10:10). He’s not asking us to change our likes. Jesus is asking us to change our focus.

When our first desire is for the things of God, then the rest of our desires are satisfied. That doesn’t mean that every item in our closets will bear the Jesus fish or our food will only follow an approved biblical diet. When our focus is enjoying God, we realize that God’s focus is on enjoying us. We receive without having to take, because He freely gives.

How often do you think about God? Hopefully right now, because you’re reading this devotional. But, in the course of your day, how often do you think about God? It’s easy to go through the day and not think about God at all. It’s easy to get distracted by the things of this world.

Try this: the next time you’re sitting in traffic, rather than pulling out your phone to check your email, stop and make a quick connect with God. “Hey God, instead of being frustrated by this traffic, I want to talk to you about a couple of things that I’m worried about today…” You get the idea.