Friday, May 1, 2020

Pay Attention to the Vital

By David Bragg

    Eastern Airlines Flight 401 lifted off in New York on the evening of December 20, 1972 on its way toward Miami, Florida. It almost made it to its destination, but then when it comes to airplanes you don't want to "almost" make it. The plane went down in the Florida Everglades killing 101 people (75 survived).
    To make matters worse, when investigators began digging through the cause of the crash they determined that as the plane was approaching Miami the co-pilot noticed that the landing gear indicator light was not working. When he was not able to replace the bulb the pilot decided to assist him. While they were focused on a light bulb the plane went down (www.thisdayinaviation.com).
    One of the greatest dangers we can fall prey to is to focus on something of relatively minor importance while ignoring the things that are vital. The Pharisees made this mistake every day. Jesus described them as blind, saying that they “strain out a gnat and swallow a camel” (Matthew 23:24).
    It is crucial that we be able to discern between the trivial and the vital. Make the best use of your time and talents. Invest in the vital, focusing on anything less may lead to disaster.
 
 - David Bragg serves as one of the ministers at the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC and is co-editor of BulletinGold. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.nwchurchofchrist.com/ or his blog: http://davidbragg.blogspot.com/

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