Set Your Mind on Him

​Set Your Mind on Him (Read time ≈ 7 minutes)
Colossians 3:2 (ESV)
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
 
 
                It is hard… maybe even impossible, to do the will of God when our priorities lie heavily on earthly things. The greater our concern is for things of this world that will perish (Matthew 6:19-24), the lesser our concern will be for eternal Kingdom business. This isn’t a matter of right vs wrong or righteousness verses sinfulness. It’s not a matter of letting go of sinful ways and choosing holiness (although those things are important). No, this is simply a matter of focus. Set your mind on things that are above! Not on things that are on earth. In other words, keep your focus on God and His will. Sometimes, it is the innocent things that really cause us to stumble. The things that are not bad… not sinful… maybe even good! That when our primary focus is shifted from Jesus to these things is when we have an issue. This is why Jesus said it is harder for a rich man to enter into heaven than for a camel to enter through the eye of the needle (Matthew 19:23-24). Not because riches are evil… but because they are distracting. You know the saying, “more money, more problems”! I think we all can agree, the simpler and less distracting times of life are the times when we are doing better in the areas of eternal value. But when we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, we seem to naturally push these things to the wayside.
 
Why on earth would we do that? What could possibly cause us to take things of ETERNAL VALUE and set them aside for things of momentary value? I’m going to answer that with the simple, but hard truth… Because we aren’t very smart, and we are easily distracted, simple creatures. The phrase “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” is an accurate phrase invented by humans because we, in some ways, understand our own nature, even though that very nature can be our greatest downfall. We have things constantly squeaking at us for our attention. Demanding work schedules (overtime… Saturdays? Even Sundays?!), family time, advancing our education, friends, hobbies etc. These things often come to us and demand our attention and therefore, our time. Your work will call you and schedules you, family, of course is important and has it’s needs, school papers are due, friends texting and calling… These things come to us and demand of us our time and attention. All the while, our Bible sits quietly on the shelf, collecting dust. Our prayer closet sits empty, unused for days. Evangelism goes neglected because it’s too time consuming (Saturday outreaches go unattended). Brothers and sisters go unprayed for, and intentional conversations, not had. This life is full of squeaky wheels. But if we are not careful, we will spend all our time greasing wheels while the vehicle stays idle, never moving forward. This is because no matter how busy we get. We are not truly moving forward unless we are advancing Gods Kingdom
 
This is why Paul warns us we must set our minds on things that are above, not things that are on earth! If we naturally gravitated towards the things above, this warning would not be necessary. Even the great apostle Paul understands this struggle (Romans 7:15-20). If you are reading this you likely are desiring to be closer to God, and to understand Him and His will more. You likely desire to focus on things that are above yet you also understand the struggle of being distracted by things of this earth. So, what’s the solution? In some ways, the issue may be unique from person to person. Ultimately, it really comes down to doing what is necessary to “set your mind on things above”. What do you need to do to keep that focus? Accountability? Have someone check in on you regularly and make sure you’re not slacking and getting distracted! Using tools and resources? You schedule so much of your life, can you just pencil in your calendar time for the things of God? Eliminating distractions? Sometimes we have to look at things and simply realize, this thing is detrimental to my spiritual health, and it simply must go! These things will help, but ultimately, they are not enough on their own. Accountability will only go so far without conviction. Scheduling and planning will only go so far without resolve and dedication. Eliminating distractions will only work for a season until more distractions arise (and they will). We have to choose to engulf our life in the things of God. We have to choose to invest in eternity. Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 16:21). If we take our whole life and give it as a living sacrifice to God, we will see our mind shift more and more from the things of this world, being renewed by God to focus on eternal Kingdom business. To successfully set your mind on things above, is to give your mind, and the rest of you to God. To place it all in His hands and allow Him to rearrange your life and your mind to the point to where, no matter how much this earth calls out to us to focus on other things, our mind says set on things above. Our mind stays set on HIM!