THE IDOL: Distraction. 

“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” - Blaise Pascal 

Set a timer for 2 minutes and sit alone in silence. Did you try it? Of course you didn’t. Who has time for that? Plus, what would you even think about for 2 minutes? What if pain rushes to the surface? What if all your regrets come to mind? What if you’re forced to face your own emptiness? 

Being thoroughly undistracted is a daunting - even paralyzing - idea. But as Pascal’s quote alludes to, maybe our constant running away is what leads to so many problems. Maybe our persistent need to be entertained causes us to make poor decisions. What causes the void we are longing to fill? What are we running from? 

Romans 1 gives us an idea:
18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (emphasis added)

Humans, in our sin-filled and unredeemed state, love to replace weighty truths about God with useless distractions about anything else. We don’t want to face God. We don’t want to face our conscience. We don’t want to face our problems. We don’t want to face our pain. We don’t want to face truth. Instead, we prefer “futile” thoughts - worthless, empty, foolish. Distracting ourselves with these things is the most common way we suppress the truth today. 

Here are examples of futile distractions in 2025:
YouTube
Being too busy
TV shows
Social media
Fashion trends 

Now to be clear, there is nothing inherently wrong with anything listed above. But we can easily turn to these things to stoke our idol of distraction. So how can you tell if you are innocently enjoying a Netflix show versus committing idolatry? 

Diagnostic Question: Do I run to these things in order to avoid God, my problems, and my conscience (“suppress the truth”)? 
-OR-
Do I enjoy them as gifts from the Lord that I can use to honor Him (“honor him as God and give thanks to him”)? 

THE LIE: If I am entertained, then I will be happy. When I am distracted, my problems go away. I need the “next thing” to look forward to in order to be motivated. ____________ is more entertaining/fun/fulfilling/important than my relationship with Jesus.

During my junior year of high school, my best friend missed a very long stretch of school. He was really sick with stomach and digestive issues. Nothing seemed to be helping. His mom would give him oatmeal every single day in hopes that it would soothe his stomach. The fact that he loved oatmeal was an added bonus. After many doctor visits and tests, it turned out that my friend was allergic to oats! That was the problem all along. 

Are you daily turning to things for peace and relief that are actually making the problem worse? We think we need our brain to be occupied with levity and distractions in order to be at peace. But all we’re doing is kicking the can down the road - and all the while the can is getting bigger. Even after we’ve been redeemed and made new - set free by the truth - we can fall into old patterns of suppressing the very truth that saved us.
It is far better to fill our mind with what will actually help us: God, His Word, and His presence. It is far better to rehearse the gospel that changes us. It is far better to give our attention to God than to outlets of futility. 

I’ve heard it suggested that “attention is worship.” This is one of the most basic ways we can evaluate what is sitting on the throne of our heart: What are we always giving our attention to? 

THE GOSPEL: The truth is far scarier than we could have thought, yet more hopeful than we could have imagined! God is worth our attention! 

This is the uncomfortable truth we find when we are undistracted and let God’s Word speak: God is Holy. God is Just. We don’t measure up. We have sinned. We need help. We can’t fix all our problems on our own. We can’t fix other people’s problems on our own. 

But the uncomfortable truth is never alone. It is always joined with Good News: God is Good. God is love. Jesus came to save us! Jesus is the hero. We can hand our worries over to Him because He cares about us. He gives the free gift of grace. He lived for us. He died for us. He rose again for us. We are accepted. We are redeemed. We are forgiven. We are free! God will never leave us or forsake us. God will keep all His promises. 

God is worth our attention! And as we give Him our attention, we honor Him as God and give thanks to Him in our hearts. The idol of distraction is slain. 

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” - 2 Corinthians 3:18