Watch What (or Whom) You Set Your Affections On
Key Verse to Read and Treasure
Set your affections on things above, not on things on earth (Colossians 3:2, KJB)
For Insight
A conversation between a grandmother and her grandson after she had purchased a brand-new car went like this:
Grandson: “Rah-Rah, don’t you just love your new car? It’s so pretty, has air-condition, and smells so good! I just love it”
Grandmother: “No, Luke. I don’t love or have affection for anything that can’t love me back.”
The apostle Paul preached a good sermon about affections and where we should place them; what we should avoid doing. It’s so easy to “fall in love” or formulate deep attachments with the things of this earth, with the wrong people, with material things, with activities, and inanimate objects, but like Luke’s grandma we should be careful not to love or grow attached to things that cannot return our love. We should be careful where we place our affections.
Like character, temperament, spiritual heart and thoughts, our affections are housed in our soul which needs to be guarded, because it’s very sensitive to influence. Though feelings of affection do not necessarily mean we feel passionate or romantic love they do enable us to feel a deep fondness and form a loyalty or attachment to something or someone. Our affections placed in the wrong way or attached to something unhealthy can affect our life and future in negative and damaging ways. And once the heart is committed or attached it is very difficult to get it back or set it free.
Now we can see why Paul cautioned us to avoid this kind of attachment to and with the things of earth but reserve these feelings for the things of heaven and for God. When we find ourselves forming attachments to things, people, activities, or objects we should ask ourselves and God if it is healthy and wise.
Praying Colossians 3:2
Lord Jesus, you were careful to guard your affections while on earth, help us to be just as cautious and wise. May we always place our affections on the things in heaven and not the things on earth. Amen
Prayer Challenge:
Is there something on someone you have and developed an unhealthy attachment to or for? Ask God to readjust your affections and place them on the things of heaven.
Digging Deeper
Devotionally Yours 