Recently, I was preaching on Hebrews 12:1-3 and saw something I had not seen. The writer tells the people to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” There is not one place that Christians need to be vigilant, but two.

The primary battlefront for a believer is the war against sin. It is the thing outside of God’s will that so easily entangles us. Something about it feels good to our physical bodies or emotions, and we unexpectedly return. Soon, that thing we never thought we would do has a grip on our souls. Christians fight against giving in to their flesh and being consumed by their sins.

The other place we need to focus our attention is “everything that hinders.” These things are not against God’s will but are also not a significant part of his grand design. These things vie for our time and pull us away from doing the Lord’s work. Sometimes, the greatest enemies of God’s master plan in a Christian’s life are not sinful things; they are simply not things that promote his work and will. 

Believers tend to feel they are doing well if they are not letting their lives be overtaken by sin. Then, unfortunately, they throw themselves into projects that hinder their faith from growing. They fill their schedules with numerous activities that keep them busy and keep them from the life God intended.

There are three choices for our lives: serving the Lord, living in sin, and being so preoccupied with the things of this world that we have no time for God.