THE PRICE OF DISTRACTION

Just because God has a purpose for your life, it doesn’t necessarily imply that you will get there. NEVER FORGET! You can’t be destroyed but you can be distracted… and that my friend, well, that’s the greatest agony of it all.

Tired from many years of work, Mr. Willie Wonka decided that the time had come for him to retire. His hard work and dedication took him to build one of the biggest candy emperies that ever existed “The Wonka Chocolate Factory.” Dominating the industry in every aspect, Wonka knew that said empire couldn’t be passed down to anyone. The person to succeed, had to be a responsible, goal oriented, and most importantly! Capable of maintaining the focus despite any distraction. “Who better than a kid?”                 -Willy thought, and with this idea in mind, he hid 5 golden tickets in the next production of Chocolates that would be distributed around the Nation. “Whoever finds the ticket would have the privilege of visiting the factory for a day.” -was the catch that the businessman used to get the kids excited and start the golden ticket haunt. A couple weeks went by until eventually all the tickets were found. The day had come, and the Wonka Chocolate Factory opened its doors for the visitors. Filled with awe, none of the kids could believe what their eyes were seeing. It felt like being on a fairytale were everything seemed surreal. Chocolate rivers, giant candies, and everlasting flavor gum were few of the things that made the factory magical. However, all these amazing things would be the same distractions that Mr. Wonka will use to separate the winner of the big price from those who couldn’t help but to allow their own desires to control them. By the time the tour was over, there was only 1 kid left, “Charlie” whose life changed forever.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a great illustration of the journey of life. God has already stated that great are the plans he laid for each person in the world. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” -Jeremiah 29:11- The reason why majority of the world will not see these promises become a reality, is because we can’t control our desires. We think that we are free, but we are nothing more than slaves to the things that won’t allow us to conquer all the magnificent things meant for us. We lose focus of where we are supposed to go simply because “something caught our attention along the way” – I want to marry a caring, kind, and supportive wife, the man says. However, this girl I met at the club is a 10! I need to get laid with her. -I want to start my own business she thought, but the bed feels so comfy, that I don’t want to get up. -I am ready to start living a meaningful life they yelled, after hitting for the 6th time their 5 more minutes over time alert on the app. The reason why today, probably more than ever you or somebody you know is feeling unfulfilled, is because there’s never been a time in history where distractions were so accessible. I mean come on! There is a documentary on Netflix where ex tech social media workers explain that there are specific departments dedicated to find ways on how to make users stay the longest time possible on the app. Every day, this society works harder and harder to make you slave of your own desires. The sad part… we are happily being enslaved. “Charlie” the kid who became the owner of the Wonka Chocolate Factory was probably the less likely to win, if we looked at it from a superficial standpoint. This kid was poor y’all, his house was probably the size of match box, it seemed like he wore the same clothes every day, and him and his family struggled for food. The chocolate in which he found the ticket, he bought it with a bill he luckily found on the street! How can a kid so poor be so fortunate, you might ask. Here is the answer, he wasn’t contaminated by the world! He didn’t have access to any of the things that the other kids had access to. Therefore, Charlie never had the chance to become a slave of his desires. Unlike Augustus for example, whose parents had all the money to support his chocolate addiction… addiction that would later make him fall in the chocolate river and lose the opportunity to inherent the factory. All Charlie did was to try to help his family in any way he could. He set a goal, he stuck to it, and didn’t allow any distraction to make him forget where he was going… later he was recompensed with more than he expected. Is being rich or having things something bad? NO! what’s bad is when we can’t control what these things can cause in us. Put it this way! The more things that surround you, the more opportunities you have to get distracted. You are meant for great things my friend, but I must keep it real with you… if you keep allowing distractions in your life, you will die without ever discovering all the blessings God had in store for you.

The price we pay for distractions is not worth it! distractions might feel good in the moment, but the consequence is separation from the best version of yourself. Your distraction may not look like chocolate rivers or giant candy, but maybe your distraction looks like a group of friends who move you backwards instead of pushing you forward, maybe it Is an addiction you have, maybe it is social media, or maybe it is your own thoughts. Only you know what’s distracting you right now my friend… My advice? Get rid of it! How sad it would be that distraction after distraction, the train of life departs from your station to never come back… leaving you to wonder “what if”?  

I feel honored to have the opportunity to be part of your journey! I want you to know that I am rooting for you, but you must also know that doing this life by yourself will leave you nothing but empty… a couple days ago one of my friends said… dude your life perspective has changed so much! And I thought to myself “it certainly is not me… is the fact that I am getting to know Jesus” I want to invite you to get to know him as well! He is changing my life, and he surely can change yours too… he is not a religion, he is not a church, and he is more than anything you can imagine.