There’s a powerful moment in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie.

Just moments after the epic Battle at Helms Deep is won by the forces of good, the Wizard Gandalf says, “The battle for Middle-Earth is just beginning. All our hopes now rest on the shoulders of two little hobbits, somewhere in the wilderness.”

What’s so impactful about that moment is that the movie viewer, immediately after the awe-inspiring grandeur and glory of the battle, remembers what the bigger focus should be. The effort that matters even more, even though it is not in the spotlight and does not seem as exciting.

These days, social media is one large battlefield, where arguments and controversial issues abound. True, this can be entertaining and even sometimes lead to important topics being discussed.

Yet I cannot help wonder if today’s Christians, if we are not careful, get too drawn into the controversies, thus missing out on the most important happenings around us. While Christians can and should address the issues of the day, with truth and compassion, perhaps the more important issue that God wants us to pray about or care about is one that no one is talking about.

The Bible says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12).

Stop and consider if you are getting too drawn up in daily controversies that will not matter in the long run. Consider if you are considering that person on social media with whom you disagree to be the enemy; when God is calling you to reach that very person, all while remembering who the real enemy of our souls is.

It’s only by God’s grace that we can recognize what the most important battles are. With His help, Christians can rise better above the daily chatter and perpetual outrage on social media to shift our focus to the permanent things—the things that have eternal importance.

God can help us to see beyond the social media spotlight to the things that matter to Him, and thus should matter to us, the most.