How Long Is Your Attention Span?

A boy wnet to his father one day and said, with a slight whine in his voice, “Dad, can you make church not so long tonight?”
“Why?” his father asked.
“Because I always want to fall asleep!” was his honest reply.
His father answered, “Well, son, the people who come to church come to hear a message from the Bible, so I cannot promise that church will not be long.” Of course, “long” is a relative word anyway. The service lasts from 6:00 to 7:15 on Sunday nights. Shorter than a movie or a ball game, but nonetheless to a 4 year-old, it’s long!
About an hour later, the boy went to his father and said, “Did you decide yet, Dad?”
“Decide what?”
“If you could make church not so long tonight.”
“Well, I already answered you, son.”
“Oh.”
But apparently he heard what he wanted to hear and not what his father said. Later in the day he told his sisters, “Daddy is going to make church not be so long tonight.” One of the girls said to their father, “Is that true, Daddy?”
“Is what true?”
“Stephen said you’re going to make church shorter tonight.”
“No, that’s not what I told him.”

Apparently this boy had a serious case of “wishful thinking.” Now, I must stick up for him lest someone think he is a little heathen. He’s a very good boy. He loves all the people at church. But sometimes he gets really bored with the church service itself. It’s hard enough for any 4 year-old to stay interested in church, much less when the services are conducted entirely in a language that is not his own. So, I’m not concerned about the fact that he would rather be outside playing than sitting in church. But what I am concerned about is adult and teen Christians who are bored like this 4 year-old boy.

Don’t Be Bored with the House of God
I’m talking about those who drift in and out of sleep, count the number of light bulbs in the church, and draw in the songbook. I’m talking about the ones who have to leave the service talk on their cell phone. I’m talking about the ones who act like church is a religious duty which one must endure instead of a precious time of worshipping the God who loves them. Psalm 122:1 says, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.”

Don’t Be Bored with the Word of God
I wonder how many times we as Christians approach our Bible reading time with indifference, apathy, and a desire to “keep it short.” Or if we do not necessarily desire to keep it short, there is still oftentimes the lack of ability to focus. Sometimes the smallest of interruptions can get us off track! We should not read our Bibles like a bored 4 year-old. Psalm 19:10 says that the Word of God is more desirable than much fine gold and it is sweeter than honey! The Word of God is valuable beyond measure and has a sweetness that is without equal! We should read and study it as if we actually believed that.

Don’t Be Bored with the Blessings of God
When God’s grace and lovingkindness and His undeserved blessings become “ho-hum” to us, warning signals should go off in our heads. Psalm 126:3 tells us the kind of spirit we should have when we consider God’s blessings: “The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” Psalm 103:2 says, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” The Psalmist proceeds to itemize those benefits in the subsequent verses. I challenge you to read through Psalm 103 and then write down every single “benefit” that God has provided for you. It is stunning when you really stop to think about it. I don’t ever want to get over the manifold blessings of our gracious God.

I trust this thought will be a challenge to you to stay excited about the house of God, to stay focused upon the Word of God, and to continually stand in awe of the blessings of God. After all, we’re not 4 years old anymore.

Attitude: It Will Make You Or Break You

Success is not measured in talent, ability, or riches, but rather in your attitude.
The year was 1890 and report cards were being sent home from the schools in England. A young sixteen-year-old boy took his card home and, with fear and anticipation, he opened the envelope. Although he was a bright student, his speech impediment made him something less than desirable to listen to. After glancing at his report card for several minutes, he found these words written to him from his speech teacher. “Obvious, No Success.” The young teenage boy looked at those words and determined that his life was going to be a success! The sixteen-year-old boy’s name was Winston Churchill, and he later did go on to become a great success.

What was the difference maker in this man’s life? Attitude! Success is not measured in talent, ability, or riches, but rather in your attitude. Winston Churchill said these words, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”

The Bible gives much reference to our attitude as Christians. The word spirit simply means “our prevailing attitude.” Here are a few examples of spirits or attitudes in the Bible.
Jealous
Evil
Wicked
Haughty
Prideful
Meek
Humble
Conquering
Wounded
Doubting
Aside from Christ, one of the greatest examples that we see in the Bible of a good attitude is that of a man by the name of Daniel. If there ever was a man who had an excuse to have a negative attitude, it was Daniel. Daniel was a taken from family and friends, became a prisoner of war, and was forced to live in a wicked country. Yet we find in Daniel 6:1-3 that Daniel was promoted and exalted above all the king’s men because of his excellent spirit.

Let me ask you, what type of attitude do you have? If we were to ask your parents, pastor, youth pastor, friends and teachers, what would they say about you? Could they say that you, like Daniel, have an excellent spirit?

Here are few helpful thoughts that teenagers can apply to their lives as they seek to have an attitude that will honor and glorify God.
1. Never allow circumstances to dictate your attitude.
There will always be enough negative things that will happen each day to cause you to have a negative attitude.
You will fail a test.
Your friends will lie about you.
You had plans to hang out at a friend’s house only to have your parents say no.
There are endless examples. You can either decide to allow these negative circumstances to control your attitude, or you can take charge of your attitude and live on the winning side.
2. Attitude determines altitude.
How high you soar in life will ultimately depend upon your attitude. Someone once said, “We are not born winners, and we are not born losers. We are all born choosers.” The attitude of success or failure is an attitude that you choose for yourself.
3. Attitude is contagious.
In Daniel chapter one, we find that Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat. As a result, three other young men decided to make the same choice as Daniel. Why? Because his attitude was contagious. Your attitude is either infecting people’s lives or it is affecting people’s lives. If our attitude is contagious, is yours worth catching? What kind of youth group would we have if everyone in the youth group had your attitude? Make your attitude worth catching!

Our attitude is something that can be very effective if used in the proper manner. May each of us strive to make our attitude something that can be used greatly in the hand of an Almighty God.