Please note: This article is longer than normal, so you may need to read it in parts. However you determine to make it through to the end, I strongly encourage you to do just that. It is one of the most important articles God has used me to write in quite some time.

As promised, this final article in our series on the moral act of attention will explore the importance of attention for Christian thinking and life, particularly in this chaotic season. If you have not already done so, please first read our proof of attention as a moral act and secondly our exploration of the general implications such a proposition infers. Together, these three articles serve as the foundation for our current book project, tentatively entitled Come Out of Her: A Christian Response to the Meaning Crisis.

Having proved our proposition and explored its general implications, we can now dig deeper into the impact rightly invested attention might have in the church and then consequentially on Western society – assuming Christians determine to positively impact their respective church fellowships and the society around them. Indeed, this relationship between the world, the Body of Christ, and the Creator and Builder of both must be explored first, if we are to understand the weightier matters of attention in the Christian context.  

Come Out of Her

The Bible has much to say about our relationship with the world and its influence on our relationship with God. To say these relationships are complex would be an understatement. Each party brings their own desires to the table, and those desires are not always clear: God and much of His word are a mystery to us; the world and its systems, under the influence of Satan, are bent toward deception; and, only the most naïve would venture to think we know ourselves completely.

Complex subjects require more focused attention, so please receive this encouragement: Resist the temptation to turn your attention toward simpler, less consequential matters. Determine instead to diligently search out what God desires for His people in this world, beginning here:

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. John 17:15-16

“In the world, but not of the world” rolls off the tongue like so many familiar Christian cliches. However, we know from life experience that being “in, but not of” is radically easier said than done. Anyone alive today who spent any time in the Western public school system will find evidence “of the world” indoctrinated into their conscious and subconscious minds. Those who have worked in our capitalist economies have experienced more of the same. Don’t get me wrong, capitalism done right is the best system going; but it still works hard to inform the minds and hearts of its participants.

Our dependence on the world to train our children for success there – particularly from such a young age – has had dire consequences. Well-intended parents, grandparents, godparents, etc. – as well as well-meaning mentors and peers in the workplace – have placed too much trust in the systems of the world. The world, pretending to be our friend, has dragged, is dragging, and will continue to drag us and our children across an invisible but very real threshold. For too many, pursuit of the American Dream has put us on the wrong side from God.

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? James 4:4-5

We must be careful at this point to recognize and navigate the tension of this passage. On the one hand, we must accept “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)”. God’s sovereign judgment is not the same as His severe condemnation. In this season of compromise, He is endeavoring to reveal the dangers we have brought upon ourselves and those we love. Indeed, His judgments are one of the most loving things He could be doing for us in this chaotic time.

In response to His loving judgment, it falls to us to take ownership for our participation in the world’s deception. Those who have invested so much in their children, in their jobs, and in their nation will struggle separating good from evil. But the bad must be faced (i.e., judged) and confessed. Graciously, God offers us forgiveness and the opportunity for repentance – a change of mind leading to renewal and improved behavior – as the first steps toward transformation.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2

Look closely at the promise here: Submission to the transformative work of the Holy Spirit not only draws us out of conformity with the world, but puts us on the path to discovering and proving the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God – for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren, our employees, etc.

What does this have to do with moral attention? 2Corinthians 3:18 provides the answer:

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Turning our attention from the world to the glory of the Lord (i.e., His manifest presence in our lives and the lives of others) encourages and empowers our freedom from the world, her sins, and her ultimate punishment. So, let us all be careful to hear the Lord’s warning in these desperate times.

And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4

While we cannot, just yet, come out of the world physically, we have it in our power, in Christ and by the Holy Spirit, to come out from under her influence, deception, discouragement, and destruction. We owe it to the next generations to free ourselves, that we might become God’s instruments of liberation. Graciously, God has provided a path for our (and their) escape.

Focus on the Difficult Path

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14

It is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to walk down the path leading to eternal life when our attention is on the world’s broad road. God has mercy for our distracted attention (to a point), but we are making our lives more confusing and conflicted, and less productive and abundant, when our attention is divided. There is some sense of double-mindedness in the whole affair.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:5-8

Asking for wisdom assumes attention to the One who would give it (Proverbs 5:1); and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Beholding Christ and hearing from God require eyes and ears attending to Them first, often, and more intently than to worldly affairs. Granted, this too is easier said than done; but those required to be in the world most of their waking hours will be encouraged to know that seeing and hearing from heaven is not only supernaturally possible, it is commanded.

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:1-2

Furthermore, born again believers have not only been given eyes to see heaven from earth, but to see this world from a heavenly perspective.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us… raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4, 6

The path that leads to eternal life is both confined and difficult. This means we must stay on it, and we must meet the challenges we face along the way. Visualize the metaphor for a moment: Imagine yourself walking down a mountain path through unfamiliar terrain toward a distant summit. Your focus will need to be on your destination – on things above – and on the path. Staring off toward the broad road will likely get you lost (we tend to walk in the direction we are looking) or have you tumbling down the mountain.

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. Hebrews 2:1

Now, imagine you have a drone flying overhead looking out for dangers, distracting side trails, and disappointing dead ends. That’s the supernatural perspective we have sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus – an advantage provided for navigating transformation in the midst of chaos. Such a perspective is more proactive and holistic; such a life is real and deserves our attention.

Lastly, God has promised to work all things to our good as we walk along the path that leads to eternal life (Romans 8:28). Using the chaos to drawing our attention back to the path is a large part of His good work.    

Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 1Timothy 4:13

Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. 1Timothy 4:16

The path that leads to eternal life requires our earnest attention to several well-established disciplines – reading, exhortation, and doctrine being the three listed here (there are others). In so doing, we become empowered to enjoy the Father’s good for ourselves and those we love. What a shame it would be to miss such an opportunity.

Attend to the Right Values

Attention is not just another “cognitive function”: it is… the disposition adopted by one’s consciousness towards the world. Absent, present, detached, engaged, alienated, empathic, broad or narrow, sustained or piecemeal. It therefore has the power to alter whatever it meets. So how you attend to something — or don’t attend to it — matters a very great deal. Iain McGilchrist, The Matter with Things

So now that we know and are encouraged to come out of the world’s influence, and now that we know there is a path of escape which requires our disciplined attention, how do we get started, how can we ensure we are walking in the right direction, and how do we maintain our momentum? The answer is simple and profound: We (re)attend ourselves to Godly values.

Attention and values have an interdependent and synergistic relationship, for either good or evil. In a perfect world, we give attention to what we value, and what we value tends to draw and hold our attention. However, this world is not a perfect place; it is filled with deceptions and distractions which can be harmful, for the things we give attention to also have the power to shape our values. The best examples might be the news service we watch (or news in general) and the talk shows we listen to on our way to work.

We have touched on this subject of values and attention in previous articles relating to “The Meaning Crisis”. What follows is a summary of our initial understandings accompanied by our more recent discoveries. We hope the timely sharing of this important information will bring clarity to the opportunities of the moment and motivate a passion for redirected, renewed, and invigorated attention to Christian values and virtues. 

Regardless of our political, religious, or social affiliations, we – all of us – find ourselves living in a world captured by meaningless nihilism. Hope, purpose, and meaning seem to be evaporating, and the more we grasp for the world’s solutions, the quicker we sink into its despair. This is particularly true for the younger generations. Again, we owe it to them and their future to free ourselves and lead the ones who will follow down the path to eternal, abundant, confident, and peaceful life.

Since the Enlightenment’s rejection of God, Western society and culture has been gradually indoctrinated away from the higher values (e.g., loyalty, humility, charity, prudence) to those dominated by the satiation of self-serving need and increasingly self-destructive want. Using Scheler’s Pyramid of Values, decades of neurological research, and incredible philosophical insight, Iain McGilchrist has argued, quite convincingly, that Western society has become clinically delusional (McGilchrist, 2021). This brings to mind a few terrifying passages:

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2Thessalonians 2:9-12

But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. Luke 21:34

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. 1Timothy 4:1

One would have to reject the veracity of biblical prophecy to dismiss the threat of apostacy embroiling the church in this desperate season. The falling away has begun, will continue, and will likely accelerate if the faithful do not respond. All things are possible with God… until time runs out. And the longer we wait to respond, the more difficult and less effective our efforts will be.

Thankfully, Christians are a hopeful people, and there is hope to be found amid all the chaos, for both the church and the world. A huge door of opportunity has opened in what noted cognitive scientist, John Vervaeke, has labeled, “The Meaning Crisis.” If Christians can find their way back to, and living from, the values that separate us from the world, we will find a world once again looking to Christianity as the best source of meaning and purpose in their lives (Vervaeke, 2021).

As you can see from our version of Scheler’s pyramid above, the values of the sacred – the Christian Triune God and His character – comprise the highest level. At the bottom of the pyramid are the utility values of survival and satiation (aka, want and need). While it is important to point out that want and need are not evil in themselves, the vastness of the gulf separating the highest and lowest values cannot be overstated. The layers of values and virtues between them make this point clear.

The Transcendental Values of beauty, goodness, and truth lie below the sacred. Ancient philosophers – Aristotle, Plato, Aquinas, and Augustine – recognized the Transcendentals as inherent and pervasive in creation. They exist for all to discover and enjoy, and they are the values by which all other created things can be appraised and understood. This provokes two important observations: First, beauty, goodness, and truth present themselves to us; we do not have to find or create them. Second, the Transcendentals extend out of the sacred; therefore, giving them our attention draws our attention to the divine.

The underlying values and virtues similarly attract attention upwards. Consequently, a virtuous life draws attention not only to oneself, but to the God of their creation; and evildoers, when they speak against the virtuous, inevitably glorify God (1Peter 2:11-12). On the other hand, someone claiming to be virtuous by proclamation or position, who then compromises their values, inevitably creates a suspicion, disgust, and deterrent in those searching for God.

One final thought before wrapping up this article (a notion still under development): It seems there must be an inversion of the values pyramid, if only to help explain the evil we experience in this world. In my mind’s eye, I see the base of this “vices” pyramid adjacent and below the base of the values pyramid. This adjacent layer contains evil wants and needs (e.g., addictions and self-serving desires). At the bottom layer of the “vices” pyramid we find the opposite of the sacred: Satan and all his profanity. Extending from the profane are the opposites of beauty, goodness, and truth: deformity, evil, and deceit. These in turn give way to pride, greed, sloth, infidelity, cowardice, etc.

So, why is this important? The inverted position of the “vices” pyramid suggests that attention turned away from God, to focus on the utility values, is more easily drawn into the evil side of things. Indeed, this is where we find ourselves in our society today. Our attention has been drawn into hell on earth; and that descent of attention is most definitely accelerating. The end will be horrific for those who refuse to turn their attention back to the LORD.

So, what on earth are we to do? In summary, this article proposes three general but definitive actions:

1. Come out from under the world’s influence;
2. (Re)focus our attention on the difficult path; and,
3. (Re)attend to the higher, Godly, and right values.

For those of you desiring more practical steps, we offer this admittedly abbreviated list:

1. Make time – more dedicated time – to attend to this matter of attention. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8a).
2. Do whatever you must do to refocus your attention every morning. Prayer before meals and meetings offer additional opportunities to refocus on the higher values.
3. Ask God to speak a word to you (Romans 10:17) – perhaps a word birthed in this article. Receive the faith of that word and use it to acquire and activate the grace of God for obedience. Finally, walk in the good work God will use to perfect your faith. Note: This is a practice of attention.
4. Find some beauty and contemplate its transcendent value. The ancients also considered relationships to be objects of beauty, so pick one and consider the transcendent nature of it.
5. Find a good work to walk in (see #3); contemplate its transcendent value to yourself, the world around you, and to God.
6. Pick a biblical topic (e.g., faith, transformation, attention) and search out the truth of it. Recognize the transcendent value of your discoveries (Proverbs 25:2).
7. Share the importance of attention with someone in your church fellowship or other spheres of influence.

The good Lord willing, we plan to discover and develop new spiritual disciplines, practices, and exercises to help Christians redirect, renew, and invigorate their attention away from the world, onto the right path, and toward the divine. These will be published in future articles and in the new book. We welcome your input and prayers for the supernatural success of this endeavor. As always, let me know how I might help you progress in your walk with the LORD and transform your spheres of influence.

God bless you with hunger and thirst for His desires in this season of chaos.

Have a strong day in the Lord,

Rob

#iamjustthepen

McGilchrist, I. (2021). The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World. Perspectiva Press; London.

Vervaeke, J. and others. (2021). The 4 Horsemen of Meaning. The Dr. Jordan B. Peterson Podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCvQsqSCWjA.