Distracted by Giants

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. Genesis 6:4

Usually, those who attend a faith-based recovery meeting, whether in jail or at the coffee shop, are there for the right reasons. They know they struggle. They know they need God. And they know they’ll find help in a group of men who share similar struggles. Occasionally though, someone will come who just doesn’t get it. In our meetings every week, someone shares a Bible verse with an applicable lesson for discussion. Once though, years ago, someone brought up today’s passage and wanted to talk about the Nephilim. There was no spiritual lesson or recovery application. He just wanted to discuss giants. Admittedly, it’s an interesting passage, briefly introducing these mysterious legends, but I attend my recovery meeting for a specific purpose, which isn’t to pontificate about giants. So, I found myself annoyed. Giants were a diversion that distracted us from our purpose.

The distraction is obvious to me when it’s about Nephilim. I don’t know what Nephilim are and I don’t really care. So, this topic doesn’t tempt me. I’ve found though, that there are other things that can easily derail my faith. Years ago, I equated my faith with a specific political view. Now, I do believe that our faith should affect our politics. At that time though, politics was a distraction that allowed me to point the Bible at everyone but myself. I spent a lot of time being offended by those who didn’t believe in the Bible’s moral teachings. This served as a great distraction from my own moral failings. Sure, maybe I’m struggling with chemicals, but at least I believe in right and wrong. Maybe my life is a mess, but I believe in the Bible, unlike those godless heathens. Politics was the distraction that allowed me to practice my pseudo-faith, making me feel pretty good about the growing disaster that was my own life.

Now, in recovery, it requires some discipline to first point God’s word towards myself. I find that it’s easy to be offended by a biological male winning at women’s sports, because that’s not my struggle. For some reason, this kind of topic can easily consume our discussion at a recovery meeting. In my offense, I can generate a lot of angst at others, never really getting around to addressing my own struggles and failures. So, in my recovery meetings, and in my personal spiritual life, I must daily remember to point God’s word at my own life first. How does this passage pertain to me? Otherwise, it’s easy to find myself distracted by Nephilim.