I realize from the onset that the title to this article might not be popular in our modern society. (But that's OK. After all, God says I'm an alien.) Listen to any radio broadcast or watch any television news show and the message becomes pretty clear: open your mind and broaden your acceptance of anything and everything around you. And while it seems such a principle might bring the desired effect of increased joy and happiness by embracing all ideas equally, the true net effect of such indiscriminate acceptance is one of foolish pride and pitiful emptiness.

The truth is that I'm not opposed to the idea of having an "open mind," but as I have heard it said before, "You don't want such an open mind that your brain falls out." This is wise advice. But I want to focus more intently not on how to properly handle various ideas and ideologies that present themselves in our lives and how to filter them through truth, but rather I want to focus on what we need to focus on (kinda makes it simpler to recognize what you can let fall by the wayside of life). And what we need to focus on is God and people.

There are a lot of people in the world who desire to know what life is all about. I have always been one of them. I looked for ways to break information down to its simplest form so I could understand more fully this journey called life. But along the way I kept coming to points on the path that left me befuddled, frustrated, or downright clueless. It was like the answers to my growing number of questions was just out of reach. And the barrier I kept crashing into was, are you ready for this, me.

The more I pursued knowledge, insight, and all that I could find to fill my head with answers about people, God, faith, or anything else, the less I experienced life, or even really understood it. My frustrations grew, and as I sought out more information, more knowledge, the pathway became harder and harder to see. Until one day I found myself going nowhere, literally spinning in circles, digging a hole for myself with all my knowledge and "insight." (This is that "foolish pride" thing...)

I finally stopped striving to "puff up" my mind muscles and sat down (metaphorically). Nothing happened. The sky didn't part, a voice didn't rumble from heaven, and I'm pretty sure I didn't levitate. After getting bored and beaten up by just "sitting around" in my life, I got up and engaged the people around me. I started talking with my wife, I mean really talking about stuff that matters, not just tasks, appointments, or "what's for dinner?" I reached out to those around me who were struggling with similar secret demons, and I shared my story with them and began walking along the path of life with them, learning what it meant to "carry each other's burdens." I started "hangin' out" with God, not guilting myself into a "quiet time" or trying to impress my religious friends with false piety and a perfect smile. I learned to be honest, the same guy on the outside that lived on the inside.

And then it happened. God tapped me on the shoulder (again, metaphorically) and led me to a place in His Word that was pretty familiar to me, Mark 12:28-31. This is the passage where Jesus is challenged by a scribe who asks him what the greatest commandment is. Jesus' answer is direct and simple, "...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" Slowly, I began to understand what God was trying to say to me. I understood that I had become so consumed in my journey with filling up my head on knowledge that I had neglected the most important components of life and true joy: God and people.

This "awakening" has been ongoing for the past nine years of my life. And over those years, rather than experiencing a greater broadening of focus in faith or ministry, my focus has actually narrowed - significantly! The irony is that I am reaching more people in ministry today than I ever dreamed I would (or could) all those years ago. But there is a great paradox in Christian faith when we align our priorities with God's. As we become more narrowly focused on the specific purpose He designed us for in our interactions with Him and others, we become vastly more effective by the power of His Spirit working through us. It's almost the same type of concept as a laser. The more intensely focused light becomes, the more useful it is for cutting through barriers nothing else can. We become powerful weapons in the hand of Almighty God when we keep our life's focus intently on Him and caring for His prized creation, people.

My challenge, then, to you is to be narrow-minded. Look around in your life. What are you engaged in that has nothing to do with God or the souls of people? What is preventing you right now from cutting away those things and narrowing your focus? It may feel like you are "losing" something to do that, but don't be deceived. Jesus also said, "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." God is more gracious than we can ever imagine in rewarding His faithful, obedient, and even narrow-minded saints.

Living like a laser,

jonathan