Pay Attention
Paying attention is so hard for many people. Admittedly, there are many who have a hard time paying attention because they have an emotional or a physical issue that is an obstacle. These people are easily distracted. They lose connection in the moment and are led away down a different path. Trying to bring them back is difficult.
It is difficult for them to bring themselves back once they head down that alternate pathway. Some keep themselves busy doing something with their hands while they are listening to someone talk. These might seem distracting to others who notice this, but these things are essential to the person trying to concentrate on what is being said. We should be gracious as they struggle.
Paying attention is an absolute necessity in life. Inattentive drivers can cause accidents, miss caution signs, and travel too fast! Inattentive students miss assignments and cause their teachers great consternation! Inattentive doctors could misdiagnose a problem and, if the doctor is a surgeon, could do irreparable damage on the operation table! While all of these situations are bad, there is nothing worse than failing to pay attention to the One who will judge eternal souls!
Earlier this year, someone handed me a written question about Philippians 2:16, “…holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” The question concerned two different renderings of this verse. In addition to the one just quoted, another reads, “…holding forth the word of life…” This rendering sounds a little different and the question was which one is the right translation.
It might sound like a cop-out, but I think the answer is that both are correct, when properly understood. Consider first the other 5 passages where the Greek word is used. The first is Luke 14:7, “So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them…” The word is used of Jesus observing how the people rushed to get the best seat at the banquet. He “noted” it. He “paid attention” to what they were doing and formulated a response.
Acts 3 opens with the account of Peter and John encountering a lame man at the gate of the temple. He begged them for some alms to which Peter responded that he did not have any but would give him what he did have. Peter told him to look at him at which point the text reads, “So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.” (verse 5). The lame man did not want to miss whatever was coming and it caused him to pay attention!
In Acts 19:22, we learn that Paul was in Ephesus. He sent two of his companions into Macedonia while he “stayed” behind. He kept his attention in Asia while others went elsewhere. The final passage is I Timothy 4:16 where Paul admonished Timothy to “take heed to” himself. He wanted to make sure that Timothy did not spend so much time teaching and helping others that he failed to pay attention to himself and his spiritual condition.
In answer to the above question about the proper translation of Philippians 2:16, I think it is both “hold fast” and “hold forth”. All of the things that God wants us to “hold fast” are things that He wants others to know about and that is “hold forth”. If we are paying attention to God, we will pay attention to others who need to know God!
— Mike Johnson
