Give Careful Thought

I ordered a dress from an online store.
I was excited to get it, but knew that I would have to wait over a week for it to arrive.
To my delighted surprise, the package came earlier than expected.
I quickly opened it, knowing the exact boots and scarf that I would wear with the dress.

Upon opening the package, I discovered that it was not my dress.
What should have been blue was red; what should have been my size was not.
The name on the package was mine; the invoice reflected the item I ordered.
The dress belonged to someone else.

I immediately called the company.
They were sorry.
They didn’t know how it happened.
They will remedy the situation.

As I was put on hold, listening to nondescript music you listen to as you wait, I sighed.
They were going to have to go through this again with the person who received my order.
Two orders were switched through no fault of our own.
Two people were terribly disappointed over a simple mistake.

We will send you a new dress and waive the shipping charge.
Send the wrong dress back to us using the shipping label we gave you.

It says you will deduct the cost of the prepaid shipping from my credit, I remarked.
I want to make sure that doesn’t happen since this was your mistake.

I was told that there would be no additional cost incurred.
Though they will have to charge me again for the replacement dress.
They will credit the cost of the new dress when the other one is returned to them.
My head was spinning at the complexity of the whole ordeal.

I have successfully ordered from this company many times before.
This situation was a first.
Someone, somewhere was not paying attention.
Someone, somewhere was a bit distracted.

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. (Hebrews 2:1-4)

Paying attention is something God repeatedly tells us to do in His Word.
In the book of Haggai, in the Old Testament, there is another such reminder.
God repeats the same instruction five times in two short chapters.
Give careful thought or consider carefully is His direction, given over and over.

God knows that we get distracted.
God knows that we have trouble paying attention.

Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

When you fail to pay attention, your actions affect others.
Like the wrong dress that was sent to me, one mistake causes a multitude of problems.
In the scheme of things, my dress situation is not irreparable.
In the scheme of things, my dress situation is low on the list of priorities.

What if not paying attention caused an accident as you were driving?
What if not giving careful thought caused you to forget birthdays or anniversaries?
What if not paying attention caused the dinner to burn?
What if not paying attention meant that we never knew Jesus and all He did to save us?

The distracted person, filling my order, had no idea what problems they caused.
The turning away, if only for a moment set in motion a whole chain of events.
None of these events are life threatening, or eternally significant.
But a lesson can be learned here.

If God repeats something in His Word, it is important.
Give careful thought.
Consider carefully.
Pay close attention.

How well are we doing?

Have we trivialized ourselves to death, filling our minds with needless information?
Can we recite batting averages and football scores, but not know the Ten Commandments.
We know the latest culture and fashion trends, but don’t know the Gospel message.
We know the status of every celebrity couple, but fail to defend marriage as God designed.

We are Biblically illiterate.
We are doctrinally dyslexic.
We are Gospel ignorant.
We are evangelistically challenged.

Our lack of attention to God and His Word is destroying us as individuals and as a nation.
A Christian worldview is being replaced by a flavor of the month.
Flavors of the month cannot save.
They are culturally cool for a while, until we tire of them.

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

Our salvation is vitally important to our eternal security.
Our inability to focus, our failure to pay attention can cost us our very soul.
God repeats what is important.
How well are we paying attention?