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Apr 15, 2026 06:00am

The Danger of Distraction

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A shift had taken place. Their eyes were no longer focused on the goal, but on themselves.

Selfish ambition, personal agendas, and the need to be “right” had taken over.

What had started as a great place to work had now become a mess. The workers had a great job, incredible benefits, and their boss was available anytime they needed help. They were responsible for recruitment and making calls to let people know about this incredible opportunity.

But somewhere along the way, they began to argue with one another. They hurled accusations like, “This is how it should be done,” and “Here’s my opinion.”

When the boss showed up one day, very few calls had actually been made. Their focus had shifted—from external to internal. They were no longer working together as a cohesive team but were operating in self-sufficiency and individual opinions.

Philippians 1:27
“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.”

Paul wanted to remind the believers in Philippi that they had a job to do. Their mission was to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost. They were to work together as a cohesive unit, with one spirit and one purpose.

He knew division would come. That’s how the enemy works—he takes our focus off the mission and places it on ourselves.

And pretty soon, no calls are being made.

The church stops reaching the lost.

Recently, I saw a graphic circulating, and it made me sad—because it’s true:

“Stop arguing with the saved. Preach to the lost.”

“This is the right version.”
“This is the right music style.”
“You can’t have true worship with production.”
“This is what that verse says to me, and if you don’t see it that way, you’re wrong.”
“You shouldn’t use that media to reach the lost.”
“This is the way it’s always been done.”

When did we lose sight of what truly matters?

Listen, many are doing the will of the Father. Churches are focused on the mission, working together, serving their communities, reaching the lost, and showing Christ’s love. Thank you for that.

We all need to ask the question: Is what we’re focused on worth Christ giving His life for?

He died so that we could be free—so that we could be saved from our sins. That’s what the world needs to know. They need to know the love of Jesus.

Believers, we are the Church. We are the body of Christ, and we have a mission. It’s not about opinions or agendas—it’s about Christ alone.

Let’s put our focus back on the mission. Let us be of one spirit with one purpose.

Tell the story of Jesus. Tell of His love, His sacrifice, and His forgiveness. Tell how He changed your life—and invite others to know Him.

That’s what we want to do at Lifeword. We have one mission: to tell the story of Jesus. We want to be part of God’s great mission for this world. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 28 to go and make disciples. At Lifeword, we use creative media to share the story of Jesus and make disciples. And we’d love for you to learn more about who He is, what it means to follow Him, and how to lead others to do the same.

Go to follow.lifeword.org. You can also explore resources in Spanish at follow.lifeword.org/spanish and in Ukrainian at follow.lifeword.org/ukrainian.

This world is broken and in desperate need of a Savior. Let’s point people to Christ.