Introduction
Everything in life jumps up and presents itself as a priority. But we can’t focus on everything. Without discerning where our focus should be, our focus becomes so fragmented between everything, that we can’t find the motivation to do anything. After deciding on a focus, how do we then know we didn’t make a mistake. What if we focus on the wrong things? What should our focus be on? Let’s look to God.
Our Focus Is Divided
Our focus is divided. We have so much to think about. How to be a good follower of God; how to be a good partner; stay active and healthy; stay prayerful; keep taking in the word of God; Participating in the building of God’s kingdom; building a family; building a community; becoming a strong man or women of God; working on love; patience; perseverance; becoming a hard worker.
Is it any wonder that we become discouraged and feel like we aren’t making any progress? Moreover, if you use all these aspects of a Christian life as a measurement of achievement, it is only a matter of time before you fail in all of them. Then, heavy burdened, you will see yourself as a failure.
“38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
– Luke 10: 38- 42 (NIV)
We cannot focus on everything. In Luke 10, Jesus tells us that we only need to focus on one thing. There are so many areas of focus, that focusing on all of them is impossible and unproductive. If you must focus on everything you will fail to focus on anything. You need a hierarchy of priorities to do anything. So, what should our one focus be?
“Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.”
– Proverbs 4: 25 (NIV)
Focusing On Self
If we can only choose one point of focus to orientate our life towards, the temptation then becomes to look at yourself as the focus. At first glance this seems like a great solution. Your own progress and achievements are a concrete and measurable throughout your life. The only failure of this focus, is that you are still you. You will fail, you will move backwards and your strength will become spent. Moreover, your motivation to become better will be severely limited by your own limitations. If you focus on yourself to orientate your life towards, you will not have the ability to grow.
“7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
– James 4: 7- 10 (NIV)
Focusing on yourself will lead you to self-consciousness. That is literally what self-consciousness means. Being more conscious of yourself. If your confidence is resting on your own shoulders, it will be weighed down heavily. Your confidence will shrink. But, if you humble yourself before God, He will lift you up.
“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.”
– Hebrews 3:1 (NIV)
We are called to humility. Our culture thinks that humility is shameful. They think it means to denigrate yourself. To become weaker. C.S. Lewis explains true humility in Mere Christianity, as I paraphrase. Humility is not about thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. If you meet a humble person, they will not seem weak. In fact, they will be a perfectly normal person. Until, you realize after the conversation, that they talked very little of themselves. Humble yourself before God and He will lift you up.
Focusing On Happiness
Happiness. Our cultures favourite focus. If everyone could just be happy. All I want is to be happy. A hollow sentiment for a hollow society. Firstly, happiness doesn’t even work as a motivator. As Dostoevsky writes in notes from the underground, in an observation that reflects Genesis, people don’t want happiness. If everyone was given paradise, so that they would never have to worry about anything ever again. The first thing people will do, is try to break it so something interesting will happen. You need a focus that accommodates challenge, because that is how we persevere.
Life is a journey and a great challenge. Happiness on the other hand, is fleeting. When life gets difficult. When sickness and injury come. Happiness is not just a shallow motivator to see you through the difficulties, but completely unattainable. Happiness is a shadow. If you try to chase it, you will fail to catch it. If you try to shine a light on it to examine it, it disappears. But if you turn your back on it and walk towards the light, the shadow will grow bigger.
“4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”
– Philippians 4: 4- 5 (NIV)
Focusing On Joy
Joy here, I will define as C.S. Lewis defined it in surprised by joy. Today we might call it spiritual experiences. The mystical feeling of God consoling us in worship. The feeling of God revealing something to us in His word. God drawing close in prayer. The supporting love of your brothers and sisters in Christ. Those moments when Heaven draws close. Is this a sufficient focus to be chasing?
I have definitely tried to chase this focus in the past. Where I would pray in order to get the spiritual experience. Worship in order to feel closer to God. And read the bible in order to get a revelation from God. But this runs the risk of subverting the focus away from God. I was reading the bible, but I was really focusing on myself and what I can get from it. Chasing Joy feels right because we were made for it. But your focus must be on God, not yourself.
C.S. Lewis describes joy as a signpost pointing you towards heaven. It is very useful when you are lost in the wilderness. But when you are on the road to Jerusalem, you see a signpost every mile. When you are lost, orientate yourself with the signpost, but don’t chase it. The signpost points towards heaven, it is not heaven itself.
If you chase joy, spiritual experience or faith with the focus of what you can get out of it, you will spoil it. Don’t chase the signpost, keep your focus on God, and the signposts will become a common occurrence.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
– Romans 12: 1 (NIV)
Conclusion (Focusing On God)
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
– Matthew 6: 33 (NIV)
As long as you focus on the world or focus on yourself, your faith journey will be stagnant. It is only when you stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about God, when your real life begins. It is only when you lay your life down, that you find what your life was supposed to be all along. Turn your focus towards God, give yourself up to Him. Then you will find God and yourself. As I close this sermon with a quote from an audio recording. I would encourage you all to listen to the recording yourself.
“Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life, and you will save it. Submit to death, submit with every fibre of your being. And you will find eternal life. Look for Christ, and you will get Him. And with Him, everything else thrown in. Look for yourself and you will get only hatred, loneliness, despair, ruin.”
John
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Very true John, thank you so much for this beautiful piece🙏🏻
Amen
We are all in search of happyness and wants a joyful day, but we are searching in the wrong places. We are looking for it in people. This message is an eye opener. Thank you
This piece opened a new world up to me. In the busy life we are living, it’s so easy to get lost in worldly focus! This reminded me once again what our main focus in life is suppose to be. If our focus is on the One everything else will fall into place and we will be at peace.
Thank you.