1727) When I was growing up, my siblings and I would sometimes play Monopoly. Sometimes these games were so intense, they went on for hours. I remember rounding a corner on the board and landing on something owned by one of my brothers and having to pay “rent” repeatedly. Depending on how well (or bad) you played, a lot of money changed hands.

As I read Acts 8:6, our board games came to mind. Here the verse tells us a crowd of people paid attention to the message Philip brought them. What’s the connection? It’s two words: paid and attention.

To truly listen to something, an apt word would be “paying” because it costs you something to listen. It takes your time, focus, and empathy, all of which are costly.

To listen to something another is communicating to you costs you something and yet, the payoff for this price is huge: stronger relationships, trust, reciprocity and more.

Now, when you hear, “pay attention,” its value becomes higher.