Where Is Your Focus?

“Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.” Ecclesiastes 6:9 NLT

How many of you have heard of the gorilla test? This was a research project, done by two PhDs in psychology, who asked participants to watch a video of people tossing a basketball. In some cases, they were asked to count the number of passes among those wearing white t-shirts. Others were asked to count the passes between those wearing black t-shirts. Still, another group was asked to track the number of bounce passes made by either team.

After watching the video and recording their answers, the participants were asked if they had noticed anything odd while watching the video. Nearly half of all participants reported seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

But in reality, something odd had happened. At one point in the video, a person dressed in a gorilla suit strolled into the scene, turned to the camera, pounded the chest, and walked away. While it seems impossible that someone could miss such a sight, the study found that nearly 50% of them did not see it at all. Why? Because of something called inattentional blindness. Which, in psychological terms, is defined as the failure of a person to realize something in their line of sight because they were so intently focused on something else. In the case of the gorilla test, the participants missed seeing the gorilla because their attention was focused on counting passes.

Inattentional blindness can happen to us every day. For example, when you are so engrossed in a tv program, movie, or a book and you fail to notice someone entering the room or even asking you a question. Or even more seriously, the distracted driver who is focusing on his or her cell phone and becomes blind to a red light or a curve in the road.

And we can fall victim to inattentional blindness spiritually. In fact, it is one of the ways Satan deceived Adam and Eve. He invited them to focus on the apple with the promise that one bite would give them God-like wisdom. They became so focused on the one fruit they didn’t have that they missed the entire garden full of many fruits that God had provided them. Because of their inattentional blindness death entered this world.

This is exactly why the Bible offers this counsel:
“Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless – like chasing the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 6:9 NLT).

So, where is your focus?

Stop a minute and focus in on the blessings you have from the Lord.

This is discipleship…following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and being committed to the mission of Jesus.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, we know that we get easily distracted. Sometimes there is that one thing that is really causing aggravation in our life, and we focus on it so intently that pretty soon that’s all we can see. And because of it, we miss so many other things that you have given to us in our lives. So, Lord, help us to focus on you and help us to remember that the things that we are staring at are important. That’s why you encourage us to set our eyes on you, the author and perfecter of everything. Help us to do that today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.