pay attention

My sister and I were just toddlers when our parents immigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe. Everything was new for them. I remember the excitement surrounding my first day of kindergarten. My parents had purchased an Eastern European school uniform for me, and I looked like a little Soviet girl with two giant bows in my hair.

 

Every day, I would come home and enthusiastically share everything that happened at school. One day, I told my parents that, at the beginning of each school day, we all stood up to pledge our allegiance to the flag. My father immediately became a little skeptical. "We shouldn't pledge our allegiance to anything but God," he said. "That's why we fled our country to begin with." He decided he didn't want me to participate in the pledge until he learned more about it.

 

From that day on, every time the class stood up to pledge allegiance, I joined them but silently mumbled, "Fa la la la la, la la la la," in my mind as they recited the words. I refused to give them my attention.

 

I remembered this story and shared it with our children while we studied the Book of Daniel together. Although we laughed about it, I suddenly realized how much my story resembled the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When their accusers brought their complaint to the king, they said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up (Daniel 3:12)."

 

Paying attention is essential for true worship. While Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were physically present, their choice not to focus indicated that they were not genuinely engaging in worship. Many mistakenly believe that merely being present is sufficient for worshiping God. However, true worship occurs when we actively listen and pay careful attention.

 

God gave an Old Testament prophet named Ezekiel a vision in which he saw the Temple of God. As he was escorted through different areas of the temple, from the outer gates to the inner courts, he observed people who were physically present but worshiping idols. This is similar to a sanctuary today, filled with people who are physically there but focusing their attention on entirely other things.