Nov 21

Colossians 3:2
Memorise Colossians 3:2
“…set your affection on things above…”

Paul continues on the same theme of heaven in Colossians 3:2 “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Understand first of all that things above and things on the earth cannot go together. Things above are of God; things on the earth are of men. Things above point us to God; things on the earth point us away from God. Things which are above are eternal; things on the earth will perish. Things above give us hope eternal; things on the earth give us only temporal worry or pleasure. Paul drives home the point with the phrase “set your affection”, which is one word in Greek, “phroneo”, meaning to intensely be thinking about a certain thing. This intensity implies that there can be only one thing you set your affection upon, either heavenly or earthly, but never both. You can only be planning to lay up treasure in heaven, or gain wealth on earth, but not both. You can only desire to worship God in heaven, or to idolize people or things on earth. Note from previous verses that Paul is not advocating a complete ascetic lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with material comforts, as long as one puts the Kingdom of Heaven first in all things.

So what gets you more excited, church camps which are like a foretaste of heaven, or holidays to places with worldly pleasures? What do you look forward to each week, Sundays for church and worship or just the weekend for fun and recreation? What gets you more concerned, not having served God enough or not having studied enough? What are you more mindful of, having a regular QT schedule or having a regular TV schedule? What do you like to do online–encouraging your friends with verses from God’s Word and listening to online sermons, or playing the latest games? Dear teen, I hope you realise it really is impossible to be setting your affection on both things above and things below at the same time. You have to decide whether you want to live with eternity’s values in view, or live with worldly cares and pleasures in lieu.

Thought: If I mind earthly things, I am no different from non-Christians.
Prayer: May I see how temporal worldly cares and pleasures truly are.