The Challenge of Distraction

Scripture — Nehemiah 6:1-4 (NRSV)

Now when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had built the wall and that there was no gap left in it (though up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down to you?” They sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.

Devotion

As Nehemiah and his collaborators were close to finishing the wall of Jerusalem, their opponents in the land tried once again to stop the work. This time they invited Nehemiah to meet with them for a conversation at a location many miles away from Jerusalem. We don’t know the topic they proposed, but I would imagine it was something they believed Nehemiah would be interested in. He declined their invitation, however, sensing that they intended to do him harm in some way. He may have anticipated physical harm. Or perhaps the harm he expected was more about keeping him from fulfilling his mission.

Yet, in his response to his opponents’ invitation, Nehemiah explained his unwillingness to come and meet with him in a curious way. He did not say, “I know you want to harm me.” Rather, he said, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down to you?” (6:3). To put Nehemiah’s response in slightly different language, he said, “I am doing a great work and am unwilling to be distracted from it.”

Distraction is one of the most common and damaging challenges faced by leaders. To be sure, sometimes the things that distract us are not human. I’m thinking of the distractions related to social media, for example. When I have pressing work to do, especially work I’m not excited about, it can be tempting to see if there is something more interesting on Instagram or YouTube.

But, often, the distractions we experience in life come from people. Not that we tend to have opponents like Nehemiah had. The people who distract us may be well intended. They might be friends, colleagues, customers, relatives, or even our bosses. Though we know we need to focus on a particular project, sometimes facing an approaching deadline, nevertheless we allow ourselves to put aside that project for things that aren’t nearly as important.

Now, I should be clear that I’m not saying the pressing work we do should always take priority over people. At several points in the gospels, Jesus allowed himself to be “interrupted” by someone who could have been seen as a distraction (Zacchaeus, the woman with the flow of blood, Bartimaeus, etc.). In my case, when my children were young, I usually allowed them to distract me from my work because I wanted them to know how much they were loved. So, there are certainly times when we ought to be “distracted.” But usually, the distractions in our lives are not people deserving our attention, but things that could be dealt with better at another time.

Nehemiah was able to fend off the distraction of his opponents by reminding them (and perhaps himself as well) that he was doing a “great work.” Notice, he didn’t say “Don’t bother me because I’m a great person.” He wasn’t claiming to be somebody special. Rather, he believed that the work to which God had called him was very special. Thus, he was able to keep his focus without being distracted by the invitation of his opponents.

Several years ago, while I was walking on the Harvard campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I saw a sign that read, “This is no small project. That’s why we’re doing it.” I was intrigued by the message of that sign and did some research about it. I discovered that the Graduate School of Design at Harvard was embarking on a $110,000,000 campaign to raise funds for the school. The money raised would support international education, new buildings, and student scholarships.

As I thought about that sign, I wondered if I could say the same thing about my own work. Could I ever say, “This is no small project. That’s why I’m doing it”? Did I think my work actually mattered to the people I was serving? To the organization for which I worked? To the world? To God?

Of course, we can avoid certain kinds of distractions by making wise, practical choices. For example, when I first got a computer with email, my desktop would always let me know when a new email arrived. I’d hear a ding and see the number of unopened emails grow by one. Even when I was trying to pay close attention to some other project, I found myself regularly tempted by the possibility of an intriguing email. After many months of letting this distraction hinder my work efficiency, I realized that I needed to get rid of the temptation. So, I changed the settings in my email program. From that time on to this very day, I don’t know when a new email arrives. I’ll know I’ll have time to discover that later. For me, freedom from that kind of distraction helps me to do better work and be more productive.

But what really helps me to fend off distraction is the conviction that my work matters. Although I might not always be able to say, like Nehemiah, that I’m doing a great work, I believe that what I do makes a difference in the lives of many people. More importantly, I know my work matters to God. Now let me be clear. This isn’t just because I work for a religious institution or do things that might be labeled as ministry. God created us to do good work in the world. God in human flesh spent most of his time on earth as a carpenter. All work, when it is consistent with God’s purposes, can make a difference that matters to people and glorifies God.

So, when some distraction tempts me to stop doing what I should be doing, if I can remember that my work is something God has given me to do for God’s own purposes, then I will remain focused. If I remember that my work isn’t just for my income or success, but for God’s glory, then I can follow the example of Nehemiah and say to myself, “I am doing good work for God. I won’t allow myself to be distracted from the tasks God has given me to do.”

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Nehemiah Gives Credit to God (Nehemiah 6:1-7:73).