I’m preparing to preach from Colossians 3:1-4 this Sunday and I’m musing on the meaning of “things above” and “earthly things” in 3:1 and 3:2. We are, Paul says, to set our hearts and minds on “things above” and not on “earthly things”:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
What are these “things above” to which Paul is pointing? And what are these “earthly things”? For example, is a computer an “earthly thing,” and an angel a “thing above”? So that if we want to follow Paul’s advice I must stop typing (since it leads me inevitably to think about an “earthly thing”) . . . and start meditating on beings that occupy another metaphysical plane of existence, not earthly but above?
And what does it mean to “set” our heart and mind on the one or the other?
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I have recently been reading Randy Alcorn’s book “Heaven” (after attending Pastor Boerman’s excellent class on the same book). Because I have been setting my mind on this topic, I have thought more about heaven in the last year than I ever have before.
Alcorn has thoroughly convinced me that we as evangelicals have lost our focus on our eternal home and that it results in many misplaced priorities here on earth. Why do Christians have a similar rate of divorce or addictions to non-Christians, as research studies have demonstrated? Part of the reason is that we have lost focus on the eternal kingdom that Christ is building.
Another interesting thing that Alcorn explores is the common but flawed idea that the physical and the spiritual are separated. This is a notion unsupported by Scripture. The physical and the spiritual are intertwined, both while we are here on earth as well as in the kingdom Christ is building.
So, if we have set our minds on Christ and His kingdom, everything we do, whether it is washing the dishes, praying, typing or serving in the nursery, simply becomes an expression of a mind and will that has become aligned with Christ’s purposes and will.
Great questions. Right now, the news media is in the “earthly things” category for me. I find myself despairing if I listen too long or read too much . . . especially if it’s at the expense of reading or listening to the Lord’s voice. I really need His perspective right now not NPRs.
One more comment . . . for me, it’s not that “earthly things” and “things above” are mutually exclusive (tho some obviously are!) but that one needs to precede and inform the other. I love this quote from Hudson Taylor: “Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.” This is not a legalistic thing . . . it’s just the way we’re wired. When I’m centered in Christ (things above), I can better handle the things of this world.
Is it cheating to read the rest of the chapter? Because it seems the following verses give clues to what Paul means.
Putting those together maybe Paul means “set your heart and mind on heavenly goals not earthly ones”.
Because if your goals are heavenly then the way you use your computer will involve compassion and kindness and love.
And if they are earthly the way you use it will involve unkindness and deception.
If I’m right then you can keep typing, Todd
– as long as it’s not stirring up what’s in verses 5-8 in you and as long as it’s calling forth from you what’s in verses 12-17.
I think you make a great point, DSB. God gave us the capacity to absorb and store an enormous amount of information in our brains. What will we fill it up with? If we choose to spend hours every day in today’s media or worse, absorbing entertainment that offends the Holy Spirit, then we have squandered a precious gift. And we’ll probably be filled with angst and discouragement rather than joy and faith.
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