Target Fixation

I’ve only just come across this phrase. It seems t be used mainly about driving. An individual becomes so focused on an object that they inadvertently increase their risk of colliding with it. The person loses sight of the bigger picture. The solution is to force your attention elsewhere.

Is it possible for us to treat sin in this way? All our concentration is focused on avoiding sin and when our minds are thus engaged, we find that sin multiplies. The answer is to stop looking at the sin and failings and to concentrate on God. Helen Howarth Lemmel put it so clearly when she wrote,

‘Turn your eyes on Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.’