As I was thinking of what to write, the words ‘attention and affection’ kept coming to mind. The more I thought about them the more I realized what God was saying: wherever we constantly and consistently put our attention, that’s where our affection will be. Wherever our affection is that’s where our loyalty will be! Our affection is a direct result of what we give the most attention to.  So, let’s begin our study.

We place our attention on areas of high priority and importance to us. It is a mindful decision, but affection is a feeling of fondness, love, and care for something or someone. In Romans 12:10, affection is linked to brotherly kindness, love, and giving honor to one another.

So, to make a full circle: what we pay the most attention to is what our mind will dwell on – or think about – and the Bible clearly tells us in Proverbs 23:7 that we are as we think in our heart. Our mind thinks about what is placed before it via reading, or watching, or hearing, and our heart puts action to those thoughts.

Proverbs 5:1 instructs us, “My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight.”  God is calling His Word wisdom. It’s that simple. According to Proverbs 1:7, it is the fear of the Lord (acknowledgement and reverence) that leads to wisdom; and only a fool despises God’s wisdom and instruction. There is worldly wisdom based on knowledge of things, but God’s divine wisdom supersedes that of the world.

Another thing about where we put our attention that affects us is in our attitude: either we are negative or positive. When we are distracted by life’s busyness, its hard to focus on God. In our world today, it’s the world system that says to work harder, work longer, and its purpose is to keep us so busy that we will neglect spending time with God; even to the point where some people have forsaken going to church and forming Christian friendships. This should not be!

Hebrews 10:25 firmly instructs us to “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” The ‘day’ approaching is in reference to the return of Christ. We desperately need to stay in fellowship with God and other believers to remain strong in our faith. There is an old saying that I remember hearing when I was young: ‘out of sight, out of mind.’  I believe that if we fail to keep the Word of God before us, we will eventually quit thinking about Him and without the Word before us, our faith will weaken and die.

What do you put your attention on to learn? Is it more important for you to know and be able to repeat the make and design of vehicles; or the scores of the sports games and names of athletes; or the names of movies and actors/actresses, over knowing and quoting the Scriptures of God’s Word? Be truthful with yourself. Be sure to understand that the importance of the attention you give to spending time with God is evident – no only to Him – but also to others.

Knowing earthly trivial things may be interesting and fun, but be assured, they cannot hold up in a fight of faith. You need the Word of God in your heart so your mouth will speak the power of the Word of God into your life. Matthew 12:34 is clear, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Make daily decisions to spend time with God. Our affection toward Him is a direct result of placing our attention on His Word.