17 THE FOUR THIEVES

“Focus is a matter of deciding what things you’re not going

to do.”

—John   Carmack

In 1973, a group of seminary students unknowingly participated in a
grand study known as “The Good Samaritan Experiment.” These
students were recruited and divided into two groups to see what
factors influenced whether or not they would help a stranger in
distress. Some were told they were going to prepare a talk about
seminary jobs; the others, that they were going to give a talk about the
Parable of the Good Samaritan, a Biblical story about helping people
in need. Within each group, some were told they were late and had to
hurry to their destination, while others were told they could take their
time. What the students didn’t know was that researchers had planted
a man along the way—slumped on the ground, coughing, apparently
in distress.
In the end, fewer than half the students stopped to help. But the
deciding factor wasn’t the task—it was time. Ninety percent of the
students who were rushed failed to stop and render aid to the stranger.
Some actually stepped over him in their hurry to get where they were
supposed to go. It didn’t seem to matter that half of them were on
their way to deliver a talk on helping others!
Now, if seminary students can so easily lose focus on their real
priority, do the rest of us even have a prayer?
Clearly, our best intentions can easily be undone. Just as there
are the Six Lies that will deceive and mislead you, there are Four
Thieves that can hold you up and rob you of your productivity. And
since there’s no one standing by to protect you, it’s up to you to stop
these thieves in their tracks.