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Undistracted Devotion To The Lord

by Chris Simmons

As Paul addressed questions the church of Corinth had regarding the marriage relationship in I Corinthians chapter 7, he not only taught of the permanency of the marriage relationship (verses 10-14), but of the spiritual benefits held by those who were unmarried (verses 7-8, 32-34). Paul’s purpose for such divinely inspired exhortations is explained in verse 35 where he says, “and this I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is seemly, and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.” It was Paul’s goal in preaching the gospel to those who are married and those who are not to “promote what is seemly” and to promote “undistracted devotion to the Lord.”

The idea of promoting what is “seemly” is to exhort man to do what is honorable, proper and respectable in the sight of God and man. As Paul made arrangements for the gift of the brethren to the saints in Jerusalem, and the logistics of getting the gift there, he commented in II Corinthians 8:21, “for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” All of the decisions we make in life should also seek to promote what is “seemly” and what is honorable in the sight of God and men. Honorable actions come from honorable thoughts to which Paul writes in Philippians 4:8, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.” All of our relationships with our fellow man must be governed by these principles including what Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:23 of the need to “abstain from every form of evil.”

Beyond Paul’s promotion of what is “seemly,” he also sought to promote “undistracted devotion to the Lord” in all that he taught and preached. The Greek word for “promote” is “pros” which Thayer defines as “of the goal or limit toward which a movement is directed.” Paul sought to effect through his preaching and the writing of his epistles, the movement towards the goal of “undistracted devotion to the Lord.” Should that not be the goal of our worship, service, study and prayer – to move us towards that same goal?

“Devotion” in the original Greek is from the word “euparedros” which Thayer defines as “sitting constantly by, assiduous…constantly devoted.” It ought to be the purpose of every Christian to be constantly devoted to God. Our devotion to God is to be characterized by a devotion to the teaching of the apostles, fellowship, worship and prayer (Acts 2:42; Romans 12:10-12). Oftentimes, children of God begin their life as a new Christian with great devotion and conviction but then allow that to wane as time goes by. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of God’s desire for us to maintain our first love and devotion to Him in Jeremiah 2:2, “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD ,“I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, the love of your betrothals, your following after Me in the wilderness, through a land not sown.”’” Will our “deeds of devotion” (II Chronicles 35:26) be as strong at the end of our lives as they were at the beginning?

Part-time devotion to God though is simply not acceptable. Thus, Paul’s goal was to inspire devotion that is “undistracted.” That is, our devotion must not be interrupted, distracted or drawn away from God and His revealed will. This is exemplified by Martha in Luke 10:40-42, “But Martha was distracted with all her preparations … But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’” Like Martha, do we allow “so many things” to worry us, bother us and distract us from the one thing that matters, our devotion to the Lord? With Martha, as with us, it’s the cares and “worries…of this life” (Luke 8:14), though often seemingly innocent in and of themselves, that distract our devotion from God, which we need to “be on guard” for (Luke 21:34). Partial devotion will never do. Solomon’s message to the Israelites upon the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem included an exhortation that we would do well to heed, “Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day” (I Kings 8:61).

May it be our goal in life to emulate Paul and continually promote “what is seemly, and … undistracted devotion to the Lord.”

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