5 secrets to the power of paying attention

Have you ever left something behind?  A wallet, a phone, your clothes for a trip? A laptop on an airplane?

I’ve done it all.  It all comes down to one simple thing:  “Paying attention.”

We can be in an environment of something and not pay attention.  

Those two words are shaping your life.

Paul told the Ephesian elders, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all of the flock” (Acts 20: 28).  Can you imagine a surgeon or an airline pilot who was not paying attention?

Here are five secrets to paying attention better:

1.  Start early.

Haste gets me every time.  If I jump up when a flight is deplaning, I always forget something.  I start gathering up my things carefully when the plane starts the glide path, 30 minutes before landing!

The earlier you begin something, the less likely you are to forget something critical.  

2.  Discipline your eyes and ears..

We “look” at something but are not paying attention.  We miss the details of it, what may be missing from it, or what is obvious to everyone else.

Wake up, Larry!  Don’t let your eyes drift over rooms, landscapes, and words being taught to me.  

One teacher told us that we would not have to study for any tests if we simply paid attention in class.  

3.  Don’t multitask.

Multitasking doesn’t work.  Studies show that people can only pay attention to one thing at a time, even though they think they can do multiple tasks simultaneously.

When I’m trying to text someone and perform an important task (like driving), I’m not paying attention!  One slight mistake from another driver and my life could totally change.

4. Decide what is valuable.

I recently was in an accident where a person behind me got distracted by a child in the back seat.  We were all in a line waiting at a red light, and the driver behind me tried to turn around to a child, letting their foot slip off the brake.  

As a pastor, you must pay very close attention to your character and choices.  Paul called us an “example” because people are studying you as a model.  Pay attention to yourself.

People are my highest value and priority.  Pay attention to your words, actions, and priorities for their sake.

5. Pay attention to the Word of God.

People count the ceiling tiles and cables in church.  Their body is there, but their mind is a hundred miles away.  

Cell phones are consuming our attention, even when God’s holy Word is being read and put up on a screen to change our lives.

I read my daily readings in a quiet place.

I study for sermons in a room with AirPods in and “noise cancellation” on.  I study and read in 90-minute blocks so that my absolute full attention is only on God’s Word.

“My son, pay attention to my Word” (Prov. 4:20, GWT)

Focus, this week, on paying attention better. Your entire life will change.  And you may not lose as much stuff, either!