Drover pricked his ears. What was that sound? A raccoon? A bobcat? A thief? Or merely a stray puppy? With a bound he was off the porch. Striking his best watchdog pose, he prepared to roar his challenge. At that precise moment, a flea bit the skin at the base of his tail. Momentarily forgetting the threatening sound, forgetting that he was the watchdog, forgetting all but the stinging bite, he whirled to deal with the distraction.  

We humans are often tempted with distractions that matter a great deal more than Drover’s flea bite. Satan attempts to distract us from the straight and narrow way by lulling us with material comforts. He tries to sidetrack us by stirring up conflict in the church. Misunderstanding and suspicion are effective tools of distraction. We also tend to be distracted from eternal realities by the urgencies of daily life.  

Many a wallet has been stolen by the thief who first distracted his victim. Satan has often stolen the advantage of Christians the same way. For example, some churches have sounded the alarm over the looming dangers posed by advancing technology, only to find that while they were busy keeping an eye on such obvious threats, subtle, divisive, worldly influences slipped in the back door. Was it all a clever distraction of the Evil One?  

Drover does his best to run a one-dog security service, but he has no one to cover for him while he is being distracted. However, in a unified, spiritually minded brotherhood of believers, what one misses, another may see. This provides a tremendous benefit in our battle against evil. Above all, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus. May nothing distract us from our heavenly goal! 

I’m pressing on the upward way; new heights I’m gaining every day.
— Johnson Oatman, Jr. 

From Paws on My Porch, by Gary Miller
© 2015 TGS International, PO Box 355, Berlin, Ohio 44610 
Used by permission