About Jesus  -  Steve Sweetman

The Problem With Multitasking

The word "multitasking" was popularized in the last thirty years because of technological advancements in the world of personal computers.  I began to use a computer in 1988.  My friend purchased his first computer, a Commodore VIC-20, in 1982.  Computers back then could only do one task at a time.  We were all excited when they could finally multitask.   

As a young person I could multitask, or so I thought.  As a senior citizen, and this would apply to anyone of my age, multitasking is not so easy.  However old or young you are, performing more than one task at a time hinders your ability to effectively perform the priority task.  

Somewhere in the back of your mind you may recall the words "undivided attention."  They are two long-lost words that have been buried in the grave of a forgotten world.  My elementary school teachers required our undivided attention, something I believe Jesus requires from us as well.

You may think you can check your Facebook page, watch TV, and talk to a friend with effectiveness, but you can't.  In the process of multitasking you lose the ability to concentrate on the priority task at hand, thus hindering you from performing that task effectively.     

Years ago a pastor told his story about multitasking.  In order to escape the busy life of ministry and spend quality time with his wife, he found a quiet secluded country setting for the two of them to be together without any distraction.  His wife was overjoyed to finally have her husband's undivided attention, that is until he pulled out his cell phone to check his messages.  She became visibly irritated and upset when her husband's multitasking robbed her of the quality time she was expecting.   

When Jesus told us to seek first His Kingdom in Matthew 6:33, I suggest that implies undivided attention.  When the Apostle Paul encouraged his readers to be single-minded in Philippians 3:13, I suggest that implies undivided attention.  When Paul exhorted the Corinthian believers to fix their eyes on that which is unseen in 2 Corinthians 4:15, I suggest that implies undivided attention.  When the author of the book of Hebrews admonished his readers to fix their eyes on Jesus in Hebrews 12:2, I suggest that implies undivided attention. 

The above passages suggest a single-minded, focused, and undivided mindset, something our western world Christianity seems to be losing in many instances.  This is wasting our ability to serve Jesus with a  single-hearted effectiveness.  When it comes to our relationship with Jesus and the task He requires of us, and He does require tasks from us, undivided attention should become our priority.  King David expressed this in Psalm 27:4.  It reads:

"One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple."

May David's desire be our reality.