Do you have Attention Deficit Disorder? Many things compete for our attention. As I get older, I know my energy follows my attention and I only have so much energy left. I want to control what grabs my attention.

 

Temptations are those interruptions that take us away from God. Often, marketplace ministry is being ready for the interruptions that take us toward God. So we have to allow the interruptions. Many people report that they didn't do very well on their first Marketplace Mission Trip. They get surprised at how distracted from God they get at work. Our tasks are the things that take us away from God. Our attention goes with them and we miss the "way of escape" that Jesus offers us. Often a good thing like trying to do a good job can tempt us away from an opportunity God puts in our path. We need to train our minds to evaluate every interruption to see if it pulls us away from God or if it is an opportunity to serve others and make God visible.

 

And once we know it will take us away from God, we need to look for our escape route. God puts an escape route in front of us each time. If you think your interruption will take you away from God, look for the escape. It will be there. Interrupt yourself by writing a note to a friend or praying for a coworker. We can train our minds to cooperate with God. It just takes practice.

 

Speaking of practice, we're doing another Marketplace Mission trip in 2 weeks. Sign up now at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com and make your work life count for eternity.