But Lord, What About Them?

... And when He had spoken this, He said to him, Follow Me.
Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?"
John 21:19, 20 (NKJV)

One of the greatest problems people have in life is distractions. It is so easy for us to lose our focus and get looking around to see what else is happening and not pay attention to what we ought to be doing.  This is especially true when it comes to our checking to see what other people are doing.  Once we start comparing ourselves and what we are doing with what other people are doing we are distracted; we can either be doing what we should do or we can be distracted.  If we let ourselves get sidetracked and distracted we will never really do the things that God wants us to do.

We can see this problem in the life of Peter when Jesus gave Peter some direction about what to do.  Peter did not stop and say "Oh, thank you Lord! Now I know what to do and focus on in my life and I can pursue that."  No, what Peter did is similar to what a lot of us do; right away Peter saw someone else and asked Jesus, "What about them?"  God has a plan and a purpose for each person's life and that plan is for that person and not subject to our approval.  God knows better than we do what people ought to spend their time doing.  If we are spending our time looking around and making judgments about whether or not someone else is doing the right thing then we are probably not doing our thing.

It is important for each one of us to put our attention on to the work that God has called us to do and not be distracted by looking around to see what others are doing.  The next time you catch yourself looking around at other people and wondering if they are doing what they are supposed to do put your focus back on the things that God has called you to do.  Comparing our lives with the lives of others and making judgments about whether or not what someone else is doing is right will only lead us into distraction and despair; doing the things that God has called us to do will lead to a successful, satisfied life.