You will learn to love what you pay the most attention to.
That’s the way I would quickly summarize the Bible’s teaching on attention. This isn’t mean to be a detailed theology or an exhaustive study. There’s surely more to be said. But whatever else the Bible tells us about attention, it clearly tells us this. What we place in front of us will eventually place us. We cannot behold without becoming.
Scripture is clear that those who worship idols (any created thing that receives affection due to only God) become like them. The question then, is what is the relationship between worship and attention. How far is the journey from our attention to our hearts? I think the answer is, “Not very far.”
Throughout Scripture there seems to be a latent understanding that what we pay attention to has some kind of moral or spiritual power. Psalm 1 blesses the one who does not walk, or stand, or sit in the seat of those who disregard God. Those verbs—walk, stand, sit—show not only a logical progression, but an attentive quality. Where you walk matters because you will be thinking about where you’re walking. Where you stand matters because you’ll hear whatever is being said near your stance. Where you sit matters, because where you sit is where you’ll feel comfortable.
In Deuteronomy 11, Moses tells the Israelites not only to hear or believe what God says, but to surround themselves with his words.
