Spiritual ADD

Today's observation comes from my reading back on September 1, 2006.  My reading that day came from Judges 8.

Judges 8:18-27(NKJV)

And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” So they answered, “As you are, so were they; each one resembled the son of a king.”

Then he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 

And he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them!” But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.

So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.”

But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.” 

Then Gideon said to them, “I would like to make a request of you, that each of you would give me the earrings from his plunder.” For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.

So they answered, “We will gladly give them.” And they spread out a garment, and each man threw into it the earrings from his plunder. 

Now the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels’ necks. 

Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.

Judges 8:33-35(NKJV)

So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god. 

Thus the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; 

nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel.

There were a couple of things that really struck me about this chapter.  The first thing is why are we all so prone to Spiritual ADD?  We see it all through the old testament and many of us still suffer from it today.  We see it in this story of the men of Israel.  God does great and miraculous things and everyone gets focused on God.  But then the excitement wears off, things are flowing smoothly, and little by little we lose focus on God's word.  We start skipping a day here and there.  We'll make it up in the next few days, etc. 

It's kinda like this, we are in the Word, reading a great passage with deep meaning…..Oh look, a squirrel (to borrow a phrase from James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal). 

How do we guard against that?  I think by first being aware of it and second by being disciplined and a bit rigid on our time with God.  We have to be on guard against making exceptions and giving God less than our first fruits everyday.

Along with this issue is leadership.  Strong leaders can help us maintain that focus.  If you will notice from this passage, as soon as Gideon died, the men of Israel lost focus and started worshiping  other gods.  One of the real strengths of our church I believe is it's strong leadership.

The last thing that struck me about this passage is the fact that some times even when we have the right intentions, they can turn out wrong.  Look at the ephod that Gideon made.  The people wanted him to be king.  He said no, focus on God.  He made the ephod from the plunder of their great victory that God had given them.  The purpose of the ephod  was to symbolize the great victory that God had provided but unfortunately the people  started worshiping the ephod instead of the God behind it.

How do we guard against these things?  I think first and foremost, making your daily time in the Word a non negotiable part of your day.  Easier said than done I know but a worthy goal non the less!