May I Have Your Attention

Oh man, is there a raging competition for our attention in today’s world. From social media to Hollywood to politics to natural disasters to war, our society is saturated at an unprecedented level because we are at our most technologically advanced state so far. This overload has created another dangerous reality: apathy.

There are many dangers taking place under the watch of the American Church: attacks on religious liberty, sex trafficking, the breakdown of the traditional family, drug trafficking, a renewed racial divide forming, and on and on and on. Yet, the “Body of Christ” is becoming more and more useless. Not just ineffective, but satanically selfish. It’s focused on padding pews and wallets, with a warped view that God is a mere genie in a bottle, waiting to grant people their every selfish wish. Meanwhile, our neighbors are lost and hungry.

The bar keeps getting raised for what it takes to capture the average person’s attention. Mention ISIS and you’ll get a yawn in return. Talk about the recent awful flooding in Louisiana and you may receive a blank stare. It seems that it has to be something truly unique, catastrophic, or unbelievable to grab viewership. This is especially true with the current presidential race.

As a ministry, we are tempted to use clever marketing strategies or target people’s emotions to get their attention. After all, the average American has thousands of options for nonprofits to support. In fact, there are 1.5 million nonprofits in the US alone. Yikes! So many of them have huge overhead and basically run themselves like a for-profit business. But that’s another topic.

Lest we forget the principle that when you point a finger at someone else, there are three other fingers pointing back at you, let’s look at ourselves. As we know, it’s far easier to judge others without judging ourselves (it seems I read that in the Bible somewhere . . . ).

I was convicted the other day after I read some wise words. The author basically asked, How can we, as believers, claim to be followers of Christ and in His will when we only really give Him 5–10 minutes of our attention in the morning or at bedtime, and then go about our day? Everything else has our focus and our heart.

I’ve realized that my attention span has gotten so short that I’ve forgotten how to “be,” and so I mainly just “do” without consulting the Father. I’m not thriving in relationship with the Lord as much as I am focused on whatever grabs my attention next.

During His time of ministry, Jesus was never in a hurry. He walked from place to place and invested in relationships. God dictated His steps. So we, too, should consider slowing down and living in the moment with an ongoing sharp eye on our Savior’s prerogative. Then, our attention will be where He wants it. This is a discipline that I hope we believers can undertake anew. The spiritual state of our country hangs in the balance.