The Moral “What” and “How” of Attention

Our intention in this short series of articles is to: (1) prove the proposition of attention as a moral act, (2) present the implications of that proposition, and (3) explore the importance of attention for Christian thinking and life in this chaotic season. If you have not already done so, please read the introductory article before proceeding here, as it also contains some fundamental precepts about our subject.

In this article, we will address the implications of attention as a moral act by exploring the “what” and “how” of attention. I suspect it will be impossible to avoid referencing our third article topic – the importance of attention for Christian thinking and life – in some way. Please join me in exploring wherever the Spirit leads you.

The “What”

The question is not whether we will “pay attention” or “fix our attention” somewhere, but to what, and to whom, will we give our attention (Mathis, 2019).

Attention is simply something we do – a part of life. For example, one could not take a step or a bite of food without it. Most of our attention occurs at the subconscious or unconscious levels, but this is not fixed. There are advantages to pulling our attention to something or someone out of our subconscious, so that we can give them more consciously intentional and directed attention. For example, an athlete will spend hours consciously observing and assessing their movements, and then consciously tweaking them to improve their performance.

We all need to govern our attention; it is a limited resource. What we attend to – the road or our phone, the sermon or our fidgety child, our family or our work, our child on the sports field/court or the person sitting next to us, etc. – effects our lives and the lives of those around us. Transformation by the renewing of our minds involves applying this principle, in response to the Holy Spirit’s leading, toward the way we think.

And?do not be conformed to this world, but?be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may?prove what?is?that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2.

The renewing of our mind both involves and affects a change in the things to which we invest our attention. Importantly, there are many things vying for our attention, not the least of which is a relatively new phenomenon we know of generally as the internet, where human attention has become a commodity. The enslavement of attention seems to be the purpose of Facebook, Google, Instagram, TikTok, etc. Consequently, our society is being subtly and insidiously conformed to the world.

Getting and staying focused is a challenge for most humans – particularly when we are stressed emotionally, mentally, or physically. Without focused attention on the task at hand, our thoughts tend to wander, effecting both efficiency and effectiveness. On the other hand, the ability to switch attention can save someone’s life (e.g., from a book to an oncoming train, or from a hiking trail to an approaching bear).

Attention is not just a “seeing” thing. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Poor and/or irregular attention to His voice handicaps our spiritual growth. We are given eyes and ears to know the mysteries of the kingdom (Matthew 13:11-13). Growth in spiritual wisdom and revelation is proportional to the attention given to kingdom mysteries.

The reader’s first inclination may be to ask for, or identify for themselves, a list of things in which to invest less and/or more attention. This type of behavior modification invariably turns to inconsistency, frustration, and guilt. For lasting change, we must look (i.e., give attention) deeper into ourselves. We must invite/allow the Holy Spirit to examine our desires and motivations. Why do we give more attention to the TV or social media than we do to our child? Why do we allow our phone to distract our driving?

Examining the desires and motivations which inform our attention will expose not only what we value, but our values themselves. We will explore this further in our next article. In the meantime, give some attention to what you are attending to. The Holy Spirit, as our Transformer, stands ready to direct our attention and to bring such things to mind. His desire is to “de-conform” us from the world, by the renewing of our minds.

The “How”

How we attend to people and things has an incredible effect on our perception. For example, a certain collection of wood in the corner of a room might be perceived as a chair or fuel for a fire depending on my need for rest or heat. A mountain will be appreciated for its beauty by a painter, as a source of income by a logger or miner, and as a landmark by an explorer. A young man, trying desperately to be cool, may assume his date is laughing at him, when her laugh is actually an expression of her delight.

YouTube has proven to be a great research tool for a book project I am working on. However, I have recently found myself turning my attention to the platform whenever I have a down moment. The experience has left me suspicious of social media’s addictive potential – an attention addiction, and something now proven by scientific studies.

We thought Facebook and Instagram and YouTube were free services. They are not. They may not cost us any money, but we are paying with a more precious commodity: our finite and valuable human attention (Mathis, 2019).

How we govern our attention can also be conformed to the world. In fact, that has been the world’s intention since the beginning of the Enlightenment. The frame and focus of our societal attention, and consequentially that of our personal life, has gradually turned from a sacred, supernatural, and eternal mindset to the secular, natural, and transient. Paul’s letter to the Roman church warns of the consequences:

For since the creation of the world?His invisible?attributes?are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,?even?His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify?Him?as God, nor were thankful, but?became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:20-21

We would be wise as Christians to resist the temptation to push this warning off on the lost and perverse. Most of us who have grown up in Western society have been trained for most of our lives to think like the world, and to give attention to worldly ways and thoughts. Are we so na?ve to think we have not been affected?

How we think about social media provides a reasonable test. Why do we go there? For research? Entertainment? Stress management? Do not assume the first answer that comes to your mind is the truth. The carnal mind is a trickster; its voice often sounds like our own. We must learn to examine ourselves in the light of God’s word. For example:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are?true, whatever things?are?noble, whatever things are just, whatever things?are?pure, whatever things?are?lovely, whatever things?are?of good report, if there is?any virtue and if?there is?anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8

I must confess, this is not always the filter I apply when deciding “what” and “how” I will invest my attention in this highly distracting and discouraging world. Please understand, our motivation in this article is freedom for all who read it – freedom, for example, to think from an eternal perspective about everything. It bears repeating: Renewed minds are the Holy Spirit’s desire and intention.

The Heavenly Perspective

How we invest our attention depends greatly upon the position from which we invest it. In the natural world, the vast majority of our attention occurs reactively; we attend to what has occurred or what is occurring. For those redeemed into the kingdom of God, there is another way.

But God,?who is rich in mercy, because of His?great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses,?made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised?us?up together, and made?us?sit together?in the heavenly?places?in Christ Jesus… Ephesians 2:4-6

Why would God sit us with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places if not to direct our attention to the natural and supernatural from His perspective? Attention from such a high position provides enhanced vision and understanding of the past and present AND supernatural perspective into the future. Our heavenly position provides the foundation for both hope and prophecy, and relates closely to our having the mind of Christ.

Describing how we exercise our attention from heavenly places is, regrettably, beyond me; it is truly one of the deeper mysteries of God (perhaps someone reading this can help us out via the comments). Importantly, my inability to explain does not make such a proposition any less real. Indeed, I testify to its reality in my own life and that of men and women close to me.

Perhaps the best take-away from this biblical truth is the encouragement to hear, believe, and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in giving more attention to the past, present, and future from our advanced position. For far too long, far too many of us have limited ourselves to the world’s perspective, from the world’s limited position in creation. God has raised us up together! How could we neglect so great a salvation?

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We will wrap up this series next time, with a deeper look into the importance of attention for Christian thinking and life at the corporate/societal level. In the end, we will identify exercises, practices, and disciplines useful for the redirecting of our attention – and the attention of those we love and lead – toward the sacred, supernatural, and eternal.

God bless you with time and attention to consciously consider the “what” and “how” of your attention.

Humbly yours and forever His,

Rob

#iamjustthepen

Mathis, D. (2019, May 9). Do You Have Your Attention? In DesiringGod.com . Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/do-you-have-your-attention