“Both [Northwest pilots] stated there was a distraction in the cockpit,” reported Alan Levin in recent a USA Today article (October 27, 2009). What was the distraction? We have all been waiting for a conclusive answer since the story broke. Most Americans who fly regularly have been interested in the story for, well, let’s say for reasons related to their own lives and the lives of their loved ones. And because we still freeze when we hear about plane crashes killing hundreds of human beings.

Learning that repeated calls were ignored from controllers to the cockpit of an Airbus A320 operated by a reputable airline, flying at 37,000 feet, and moving at 450 miles per hour or so tends to grab your attention. It also leaves you feeling very vulnerable. But now, at least in this case, we know the truth. 

According to the USA Today story entitled, “‘Distraction led pilots to fly too far,” the whole thing was about distraction. NTSB authorities described the situation by saying that “there was a concentrated period of discussion where they did not monitor the airplane or calls from [controllers].”

And what was the source of the distraction? Well, there was this really nifty, new computer program that caused the pilots to become “engrossed” in their laptop screens. We expect that from 13-year-old boys with their Gameboys, but not from professionals with a combined 31,000 hours of flying time. Thus, it was only when a flight attendant called on the intercom that these experienced professionals realized they had missed their destination in Minneapolis by 150 miles and were headed for, well, maybe a really cool view of Lambeau Field.

Distraction and the Fall
Neil Postman’s work is helpful to us at this point. In Technopoly and Amusing Ourselves to Death, the late, famous author and professor from NYU prophetically warned that we are perilously distracted by the technology that always comes at a Faustian price. But the issue goes even deeper than the distractions of a new computer program.

The truth is that even when we punish little boys and seasoned airline pilots for spending too much time on their computer programs and not paying attention, we still have the problem of human beings getting distracted. Theologically, this is a result of the Fall. That is the epic but very real rebellion of mankind as taught in Genesis (and in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and in so many other places) in which all humankind and creation itself is subjected to a deep, humanly incurable condition that mars the original product.

We are sinners. That is the problem. And sinners, among other things, get distracted. You see, even when the matter at hand—the lives of hundreds of people—demands our utmost attention, training, experience, and dedication, we can just look away. We fiddle with our iPhones as our automobiles move at high speeds amidst others at high speeds who are also fiddling with their iPhones. And, of course, one mistake, one look away, one distraction, and you end up on the front page of newspapers all over the world. Or you end up with a broken home. Or a lost career. Or an eternal destiny unsettled, or a rejection of the God who made you, whose creation speaks of His presence, and whose law is even written on your heart. But you get distracted. You miss His gospel. You overshoot your destination. You fly too high, too long, and disregard every voice that comes at you.

The truth is, whether we are flying planes or running seminaries, leading a congregation or arguing cases in court, raising a family or being a friend, we can all get distracted. We get distracted by the most inane things, things like computer programs. Or other women (maybe even soul mates in Argentina). Or pornography. Or new boats. Or buying houses that we can’t afford. Or really nifty, new religions that promise everything. Or, well, you get the picture. The answer is not just to say, “Oh, now I will focus on my job! I will focus on my family!” The idea is to listen to the still, small voice. The flight attendant that asks, “By the way, where are we?” comes to us in all sorts of ways.

Thank God she asked the question. And thank God that the Word of God comes to us in all sorts of voices, through pastors and Sunday school teachers and tracts left on trains and books given at Christmas, and sometimes in the gift of a child who asks, “Dad, is there a God? And why are we here? Where are we going?”

It is in listening to the voice, the voice of God speaking through His Word, that we return to reality. For we are all hurtling through time and space, flying high, with so much at stake. We can all get distracted. But thank God there is a divine interruption that has now come, if only we will hear:

“This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” (Matthew 17:5)

Michael Milton is the president of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in Charlotte, N.C.