Elijah, my youngest grandson, asked me to play a game with him. Within five minutes of getting the game set up, he didn’t want to play anymore. Hum! His childish, short attention span was alive and well. On the other hand, he absolutely loves playing games on his iPad. He can become so riveted to his video games that he doesn’t hear grammy call him for dinner! Are children capable of extending their attention span about important things before their mind properly matures?
I applaud school teachers, especially those who teach kindergarteners like our Elijah. They not only have to teach the children their ABCs but also stretch their attention span. I wonder if the teachers must be equipped with a touch of super patience to keep from going crazy trying to keep the children busy in an instructive way. Wow!!
By adulthood, people’s attention spans have dramatically expanded—at least in some areas of life. When speaking in a church recently, I had not even finished my introductory comments before one man’s head nodded and he was “out” (asleep)! I wondered if spiritual truth was the only thing he struggled to concentrate on. What is it about attention to faith or spiritual truth that makes it so vulnerable to becoming unattractive?
I recently reflected on Caleb and his sustained faith in God. He was about 40 when he joined the other 11 spies as they crossed the border of Canaan in order to scope out the best way to take the land God had promised. But 10 of them let giants in the land scare their faith out of them. Those ten even led the majority of the Jews to vote against claiming God’s promise. Only two adults subsequently survived the next 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and were able to finally enter the Promised Land.
Please consider this! Caleb was probably in his mid-80s when he requested of Joshua, Will you now give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim [giants] were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said. Joshua 14:12 (NKJV) Really, at 85 years of age??!!! Get this, Caleb’s attention span of faith in God had lasted over 40 years!!!
When adults today hit 65-70 and are challenged to “take a mountain for God,” all too many find excuses to not engage in the work of the ministry. What was it that kept Caleb’s faith in God as strong as it had been 40 plus years earlier? Is your faith still as strong as when you were first regenerated by God’s Spirit?
I admire men and women like Monte Standage and Faith Tyson who after achieving retirement age, rise up and ask for another mountain to take. Is your faith fit to take a mountain at your current age? If not, join me in getting a grip on our desire for comfort, stirring up our spirit, and determine a strategy for expanding our attention span for love and service to our God. Do whatever is necessary to make sure doesn’t fade with time. Remind yourself of Paul’s exhortation to younger Timothy, …fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 2 Timothy 1:6 (NLT2)
Paul also continued to minister right up to the time of his death! Royal retirement is hard for many of us and hopefully we will continue to minister as the Lord opens doors of opportunity!