Devotion for the Week

… week of July 20, 2025

Paying Attention in a Distracted World

Our attention is a valuable thing, and what we pay attention to matters. The tech industry employs more than 12 million people in the United States and generates over 10 percent of the total US GDP. While we might think their innovative apps, devices, and software are the industry’s biggest money-makers, the truth is that human attention is the real cash cow. The attention economy knows how valuable our attention really is, and social media and tech companies work hard to glean as much of it as possible, mostly for advertisers, setting the stage for overwhelming distraction.

Martha, after inviting Jesus into her home, becomes distracted by her many tasks. She has her attention diverted from the presence and preaching of Jesus right in front of her. The experience of distraction is certainly one we can relate to, especially living in an attention economy. Like Martha, we can have our attention diverted at a moment’s notice by seemingly endless and urgent checklists, projects, social media, and more. And like Martha, we can become so ensnared by our distractions that we simply accept them as priorities despite the better parts in front of us.

But Jesus speaks a word of grace to Martha and to us, reminding us that worry and distraction need not consume us. That the saving love of Jesus casts out all fear and sets us free to pay attention to the kingdom of God breaking in all around us. With the assurance of God’s love, we can embrace a posture of attention, setting down needless distractions in favor of “the better part” (Luke 10:42), the presence of God in our daily lives. We can devote our valuable attention to a conversation with our neighbor, to prayer and spiritual practice, to the beauty of table fellowship, and to being fully present in worship. Most importantly, we can pay attention to the love of God, which raises us to new life every day.