
Our society is tough. We like to preach about what truly matters, but we give our attention to things that tell a different story. For instance, professional athletes are paid millions of dollars because of their athleticism.
They’re paid to dazzle us with their uncanny ability to put a ball in a hoop, hit a ball with a bat, kick a ball with their foot, or tackle people on a football field. They are paid large amounts of money because we support them by watching on T.V. or attending sporting events.
On the flip side, police officers, fire fighters, and vets protecting our country get paid a living wage to put their life on the line. Why the lack of balance? I read something the other day that said 209 police officers have lost their life since the beginning of 2016. It’s nothing short of tragic. How many people actually knew about that depressing statistic, though?
The reason I mention these things is not to promote another idea or prove a point. I really want to raise awareness of where we place our attention and why it matters.
We’re all so distracted. Our attention spans are tiny. We can’t put our phones down and look at an actual living and flesh-filled face for more than five minutes without getting anxiety from not checking social media.
Ah, yes. Social media — the place where we soak up all of our coveted gossip about politics and useless information that’s primarily used to tear us apart.
Trust me, it’ll be there when you get back. I’m not trying to guilt-trip anyone, I just think we’ve lost our way and it’s seemingly getting worse. The influence that has been placed in the media’s hands is dangerous.
The stories we see are 100% filtered by a biased news source. Because of this, we’re all walking around thinking that we know everything about something. The fact of the matter is that we only actually hold the key to half the story.
We’re a mess. We walk around with short attention spans, influenced by the media, and socially charged, so much so that we lose focus on the things that truly matter — our faith, families, relationships, communities, and the people that make sacrifices for you and me.
It won’t change anytime soon unfortunately. This is now a culture that we’ve created. Check Facebook, become socially charged, scream our ignorance in the face of another, rinse and repeat.
What are our troops fighting for? The freedom to be oblivious? The freedom to be selfish?
I think we have some critical questions to ask ourselves. I’m not leaving myself out of this one, either.
Our culture and society will only let us see what we want to see. We have to be open to other sources. Otherwise, we will continue to gravitate only toward the things that make sense to us. They’re safe. They feel like home.
The truth is, wherever you go for that story, support, or information, will cloud your judgements and only narrow your view.
Think about it this way — If only 3 things hold your undivided attention every day, then that means you’re only being fed with information from 3 things. This type of limitation is not good for you.
I guess this is my off-the-cuff way of saying we have to branch out and trust other people that feel differently than us. If we always fear the unknown and the difference, we leave ourselves no wiggle room. We become intolerant and blinded to other sources of important information.
Challenge yourself to expand your thoughts. Read about Jesus and how he treated people. Jesus was the king of accepting the difference between people. He embraced it. He wasn’t afraid to trust someone who was poor. He wasn’t afraid to confront the politically proud.
Start making waves in your heart. Don’t settle for the common perspective. Certainly don’t just regurgitate someone else’s thoughts, opinions, or ideas.
Be flexible and desire another viewpoint. It’s underrated. I often find that I learn more about myself when I’m challenged with stepping out of my routine and engaging the other side.
How else will we ever develop new friendships with a variety of people? It’s so good for us to let somebody else have the floor.
In a world where a platform is always accessible, sometimes it’s just better to take a step back and try to understand someone else. We don’t always have to be the one talking about how we feel.
On that note, I digress.

