Three Seconds

Advertisers know they have three seconds to get your attention before you decide whether or not to continue investigating the message of the ad. Newspapers are written with the same knowledge in mind, using headlines and the first paragraph to initiate enough interest to get readers to go on with the rest of the story. We have been coached to pay attention to our first impulses when taking multiple-choice tests such as the SAT, but studies are showing that when answers are changed, it is often going from incorrect to correct. Les Parrott, author of "3 Seconds: The Power of Thinking Twice" says these decisions pale in complexity to the first three seconds of social interaction and first impressions. His book hopes to inspire you to take three seconds and evaluate your first impulse, and consider a second impulse especially when those decisions allow you to: empower yourself; embrace a good challenge; fuel your passion; own your own piece of the pie; walk the extra mile; and quit stewing and start doing. Sydney J. Harris is quoted, "The art of living consists in knowing which impulses to obey and which must be made to obey." How many times have we bought something at the checkout counter just because we had three seconds to wait before it was our turn? How many times do we regret saying something that we might not have said if we had waited three seconds before responding? How many times have I reacted out of anger instead of waiting for the impulse to subside? Waiting three seconds "requires a suspension of our natural inclination to remember we have a choice in what we will say, what we will do, and who we will be."

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You have our attention! Let us grow our concentration to spend hours with your words and discerning your will instead of expecting instant answers. For our safety and survival you have empowered us with quick thinking and instinctual impulses, but we have learned to invert our inclinations and turn our first impulse into powerless excuses allowing us to shirk from a challenge. O God, we spend more than three seconds deciding which flavor of gum to chew, let us begin to use at least that same amount of time to make the next, right decision, to consider if the words we say will harm or encourage, and to consider what your will is in that moment. Three seconds to transform. Three seconds to turn our attention back to you. Amen.