A man was killed on the local freeway yesterday. Police report that he first got his car entangled in the cable barrier in the median. He managed to get out safely, but he then walked into oncoming traffic - all the while talking on his cell phone!

This article is not about how distracting and dangerous cell phones are to drivers. It is about allowing ourselves to be distracted on the journey through life. Bad things happen when we are not paying attention, among them...

Sin. "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). Satan is subtle. He tried to catch us off guard. If we are not careful, sin is the result, with all its ugly consequences. 1 Corinthians 10:12 sounds a warning to overconfident brethren who think they can toy with temptation and not be affected: "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall."

Lost Opportunities. "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith" (Gal. 6:10). What if we are not looking for those opportunities? What if we are focused mostly on self? We will be goats in Jesus' shepherd picture of judgment: "Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?" (Matt. 25:44). The goats went to eternal punishment (v. 46).

False Teaching. Paul warned the Ephesian elders, "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert..." (Acts 20:29-31). Our shepherds must be watchful, yet each of us is responsible to avoid the wolves. John wrote, "For many deceivers have gone out into the world... Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward" (2 John 7-8).

Lack of Readiness. "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming" (Matt. 24:42). May God help us all not to be distracted by the scenery or "fall asleep at the wheel" in His service.

- The Manslick Road Speaker, Nov. 2007