Loving attention

Psychologists have long been interested in attention. It is a phenomenon at the heart of consciousness and self-awareness. It is real for all of us, but at the same time it is not well understood. We all know what is meant by the word attention, but a simple scientific explanation is elusive.

Attention can span time and space; we can remember the past (maybe not as accurately as we think) and look to possible futures. I can imagine both real spaces I have visited (like New Orleans) and hope to see (Amsterdam) as well as places of the imagination (I am re-reading The Lord of the Rings). Attention speaks to the here and now as I look around my study this Saturday morning, but it is also misleading: I see the room in full colour all around, but my eyes only see colour in a limited focal area around the fovea and my mind builds that limited input into a coherent vision of the rest. I am not aware of my blinks, even though each time I blink my vision is impaired. (It is said that “God can see through the blinks.”)

You can’t actually multitask

Attention is a limited resource. We have difficulty paying attention to more than one thing at a time. Some tasks are automated and occur without much thought, like walking and chewing gum, or when we arrive home and wonder how we drove there. But many tasks require attention, and other things suffer if we are attending to one thing. There is a good reason why driving while on your cell phone will get you a ticket; it is an accident waiting to happen. Some people claim to be able to multitask, but the reality is that they are repeatedly switching their attention between tasks. Switching between tasks has a cost, meaning that multitasking is less efficient than doing tasks one after another.

What about God?

While we are made in the image of God, we have limitations that God does not have. Though our attention is limited (some describe it as a spotlight shining on a small part of our mental storehouse), I have heard it said that if God stopped paying attention to something it would immediately disappear. God, it is argued, is continuously aware of all his creation, from the sparrow that falls to the hairs on our heads (Lk. 10:29-30). God knows and watches us our whole lives and wherever we are (Psalm 139). God knows our going out and coming in; nothing is hidden from our Lord.

If that were all we knew about God’s attention it would be frightening to be under God’s microscope all the time, but we know God’s attention comes bathed in love. God sent the Son to walk with us, to take our sorrows into his body and to die with and for us. Jesus gave his attention (limited as a human, unlimited as the Son of the Father – which is beyond my understanding) to those around him who were broken or marginalized, from tax collectors and lepers to the blind. He loves and forgives sins that hang heavy on us, freeing us to love. Whatever we give our attention to, we can be thankful for God’s watchful love.