Focus
I recently read an article written by the president of one of the evangelical seminaries in America. In his article he makes some sobering points about how we use our time, and attention. The following is a direct quote, "People who cannot maintain mental attention cannot know the intimacy of prayer, and God does not maintain a Facebook page. Our ability to focus attention is not just about the mind, for it is also a reflection of the soul. Our Christian discipleship demands that we give attention to our attention."
Our current society is one that is inundated with technology. In a lot of ways this technology has proven to be beneficial. Through social networking people can stay in contact with each other while being miles apart, video chat allows family members to see each other during long periods of absence, and there are many other benefits of the modern technological advances. However, if we are not careful there is a serious drawback as well. The mind can only process so much, and our attention cannot be fully devoted to multiple things. We must be intentional with our focus! If we are not careful, we will lose the ability to maintain mental attention, and as the seminary president stated, "people who cannot maintain mental attention cannot know the intimacy of prayer". We must battle the practice of giving God our left overs. He deserves our very best. How will you make an intentional effort to give attention to your attention today? Some ideas are to take a walk, read a book, watch a sunset, engage in a real face to face conversation,and some much needed time in prayer.
I pray this challenges you to know him more, and make him known. Feel free to share your thoughts.
Chris
chris dupree
Reader Comments (1)
This is a great and timely message. It also happens to be the major personal struggle I am currently facing. One thing that God seemed to remind me of as I read this is the importance of the Sabbath. It is just so crucial for us to trust Him enough to take the time to stop what we're doing (I mean, heaven forbid we let the world run without us for a little while.), and refocus ourselves on God and on His people. I really think that faithfully observing the Sabbath (simply taking our hands off our lives for a little while and retreating) would have an unimaginable impact on the Body. Why else would it be so difficult to do? Thanks for the challenge, Chris!