Who has your attention?

My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:20–23)
 
Two years ago, after successfully avoiding Twitter (or X, as Elon Musk rebranded it), I started to spend time on that platform. It was, sadly, exactly as advertised – essentially, a collection of some of the worst elements of humankind:  outrageous takes, disturbing videos, anonymous insults, pointless arguments, and exploitative content. One of the more subtle things I noticed over time was how easy it was to assume that a certain population was represented by the five or so people who posted the most often on the platform. UConn basketball fans became synonymous with five people who posted on X. And the same was true with Republicans, or transgender people, or atheists, or any other group of people.

When I turned my attention to other platforms, I found other subtle attempts to control the voices I heard and the opinions that I would form. On Facebook, I would routinely get content from people who I barely knew in high school, but now had apparently become my closest “friends” because of their constant posting about political issues. On YouTube or Instagram, I would be recommended clips from news broadcasts, movies, or comedians who I had never watched or heard before. I noticed how easy it was to just passively accept this manipulation of my attention as normal.

We live in an attention economy, where thousands of voices are trying to monopolize our time, influence our perspective, and, if they have their way, empty our wallet. With the advent of smartphones, is easier than ever to lose control of your time, getting sucked into content, apps, or games that you were not planning on giving your attention to. And with the proliferation of social media, it is so easy to be influenced by voices that you never expected to be listening to.

Brothers and sisters, it is time to fight back, to turn from a mindless slavery to corporations and people that are trying to exploit you for profit, and to turn back to God, the only voice that truly matters and the one who knows what is best for you. It is imperative to reflect upon the voices and influences that we are allowing into our mind and heart, and to consciously choose who we are going to listen to and how we are going to spend our time. You were not created to be a passive consumer of entertainment, manipulated into giving your time and attention to things which will not matter eternally. You were created to know, love, and serve God. Paul’s words to the church in Ephesus are just as relevant today as they were in his time:

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (Ephesians 5:15–17)

We have been singing a worship song recently that Jeremy, one of our worship leaders, introduced to us, called “Full Attention” by Jeremy Riddle. Its message is particularly suited for today’s culture:

May Your voice be louder
May Your voice be clearer
Than all the others
 
May Your face be dearer
May Your words be sweeter
Than all the others in my life
 
Please keep my eyes fixed on You
Please root my heart so deep in You
Keep me abiding, keep me abiding
Keep me abiding that I may bear fruit

I encourage you today to sing this song to the Lord, to root out the voices and influences in your life which are pulling you away from God, and to give Him your full attention, that you might find life to the full and so that your life might bear fruit.