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When people lose focus, bad things happen. You know, like taking your eyes off the road, or thinking about something completely random while taking a test...Any time you lose focus on something that requires it, the thing you're doing is destined to fail.
Your mind is like a computer… It's crazy how much stuff it can do but the smallest defect can ruin the whole situation. Brian Roberts, (a former MLB second basemen if y’all didn’t know), was known as a guy who lived by God and was easy to be around. Every Sunday, while other players are working out or practicing, he and a few of his teammates would go to the nearby chapel and dedicate around 10 minutes to God. He continued to do this throughout his career. But like us all, he lost focus; he took one single shot of steroids in 2003 and at the time didn't seem like a big deal. He immediately stopped because he knew he was doing the wrong thing and he moved on... but a few years later, it came back to bite him. A guy who had witnessed him take the shot still remembered it and started talking about it to his teammates. My point is that even the tiniest mistakes will almost always lead to a big outcome that you will regret. However, the biggest mistake we can make is getting off track in our relationship with God. When we get caught up in just doing life - work, hobbies, or even church - our focus can be transferred to things that don't matter much at all. And that will almost always open the door to earthly substitutes and moral failures. In Colossians, it reminds us that a focus towards the future can keep us on the right track and protect us from sin. Colossians 3:2, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." God's purpose for us is to love him and to love those around us. If we do that, we fulfill all the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) - and when all those are fulfilled, none of those outside temptations that we all know are hard to overcome will be able to easily distract us. Coach Smith always talks about how we shouldn't wait until we’re older to listen to what God is calling us to do.... That we shouldn't say, “I'll just wait till I graduate or have kids,” but that we should act on His call now. And he is 100 percent right. When we wait, all we are doing is giving Satan, and those temptations, a chance to enter our lives and pull us farther away from God. So… the point I'm trying to make is this: we all know it's easy to lose focus, and we will all make mistakes...but as long as we stay focused on God, his plan for us will be easy to accomplish. Joshua Welch Journey Youth Ministry - Sophomore
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