Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interest of others. Philippians 2:4
When I lived in England right after seminary, I took a trip one time to the seacoast village of Padstow, Cornwall. People there love to tell a story about a dog that was extraordinarily smart. Its owner taught the dog to take his order to the fish and chips shop and bring the bag home. The owner of the shop would just add the charge to the man’s tab and send him a bill every few months. The order was always the same. In fact, the owner never even looked at the note the dog brought. He’d just take the piece of paper from the dog’s mouth, throw it away, fill a sack with fish and chips and hand it to the dog.
One day the man got a bill from the fish and chip shop for five times the normal amount. The man didn’t understand so he went to inquire. After some discussion the man and the shop owner figured out what was going on. The dog realized the owner stopped reading the note, so he started carrying whatever pieces of paper he found and enjoyed fish and chips for himself.
That’s no dumb dog! And that’s also what you call paying attention…and not paying attention! Attentiveness is an important trait in relationships, maybe the most important. Being attentive to others’ needs, interests, moods, etc. is rewarding, just like not being attentive can be costly. This Sunday we kick off a series thinking about some of the types of people we all need in our lives, and the types of people we can be for others. With Valentine’s coming up February is a good month for us to give attention to our relationships and how to strengthen them. I just don’t recommend giving your Valentine fish and chips!