day 509: Preoccupations

The definition of preoccupation is: 1. the state of being preoccupied, esp mentally,
2.something that holds the attention or preoccupies the mind. At the root of preoccupation is the work occupation. That is what we do for a living. We have an occupation. So, it makes sense that a preoccupation would be something that holds our attention and occupies our mind and time, sorta just like a job does. What is ironic is that our occupation is filled with many, many preoccupations. We can get easily distracted on our jobs with the things that are of so little importance in the big scheme of things that we can become not only preoccupied, but almost obsessed with those things that have crept in and taken over our minds. I wish someone could capture the amount of time and thought that happens in a day when we are thinking about silly things like; who is talking to who, why did they get invited to a meeting and I/we didn't, why is the boss asking two of us to do the same work, who will get the next promotion, why is my budget smaller than yours, how do I get the attention of the boss, etc,. etc. A lot of extraneous things that preoccupy our minds and take away from the work at hand and the bigger goals that we have in front of us. Being preoccupied would not be all bad if we had unlimited time and unlimited energy. But, we all know that our time and energy is limited and if we are going to be the best we can be, we must take advantage of each and every day and hour that we have. This would say that we cannot afford to be preoccupied and instead we must stay on task. The same is true in the bigger picture of our lives. God wants us to be the best we can be at our work and the life that we have been given, but He also wants us to keep it all in perspective. Paul tells us in Colossians to, "Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth." He is not telling us to ignore the world we live in, he is just telling us to not become preoccupied to the point that we lose touch with the bigger picture and the main goal of life. Today, are you preoccupied with something at work that when you think about it a year from now, or even a month from now, it likely won't matter? Those are the things that should be swept aside in favor of focus and priorities. The same should be true with the preoccupations of life.

Reference: Colossians 3:2 (New Living Testament)