There’s a wise adage that says, “What has your attention has you”. So the question is really obvious; what has your attention today? If our focus is anywhere other than on Jesus Christ, we are captured by something other than Him. Satan is a master of distraction. Since the dawn of time he has been parading a feast of temptation before our eyes (Genesis 3:1-6). He doesn’t care if you ever go his way; he’s content to just keep your eyes off of Jesus. We make it too easy for him.
Our society makes it so easy to take our focus off of Jesus Christ. You might even say it has been designed to do so. In the Western world, the focus is always on ourselves. Advertisements are engineered to make us believe we need more things, better cars, greater wealth, and thinner thighs. It’s all about us. Did you ever notice that the occasional commercials on TV that spotlight hunger in other parts of the world are generally the ones we change? Meanwhile we are transfixed by the latest electronic or kitchen gadgets.
In America we are inundated with political shouting and debate. News sites are littered with up to the minute updates about what’s going on in Washington. Hours of prime time television are devoted to people on opposing sides of the aisle yelling at each other to make their point. Many Christians are consumed with political rhetoric, convinced that God’s will can be brought about through the work of elected officials. Jesus was never distracted by politics. He refused to be drawn into conversation about it or to take sides (Mark 12:13-17). I am at a loss as to how people who claim to model their lives after Christ can spend their days glued to a news channel or spend a good majority of their time engaged in commiserating over the political climate with some like-minded friend.
When we fill our minds with entertainment, politics or any other cultural fascination, we are allowing things other than Jesus to rule our lives. You will become that which you think about. Don’t kid yourself; there are no exceptions to this rule. Paul tells us what to think about in Philippians 4:8. Whatever is good, whatever is pure, whatever is just; how much of what you allow into your mind would fall into one of those categories? We must be ever vigilant as to what we allow into our minds. I think this is what Paul meant when he instructed us to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). If we do not guard what we think about, we will become the very thing we least desire.
Why would we want to think about anything other than the incredible beauty of Christ? What possibly could compare to Jesus? What will you gain by focusing on things other than God? Why, after all these years, are we still determined to gain the world, even though we know it will cost us our very soul (Matthew 16:26-27)? Where do you put your trust? Is that where your attention is? If not, it’s time to recalibrate. Nothing compares to Jesus. No one else can save you. Does He have your full attention?