I just read the portion in the New Testament that may be the reason we get this tossed at us.
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)After Paul became a Christian, he experienced negative treatment from those who did not like the message he preached. Instead of a life of comfort and prosperity, he was beaten, stoned, run out of town, and misrepresented. In Colossians he speaks to believers who may have struggled with the same consequence regarding their faith. He was encouraging them that the glories of heaven were worth whatever losses they might incur here, so keep on following Jesus.
When read by contemporary Christians, this could sound like a call to avoid being involved in any of the world’s activities. Since we are not like Paul and actively pressing the Gospel message, we are also not suffering any persecution as a consequence. Therefore, we really cannot relate to his words. To many, it sounds like he is saying: Don’t bother trying to right the wrongs, feed the poor, teach the masses, or comfort those who hurt. Instead, keep your mind in heaven, and don’t bother about these things on earth.
That is not what Paul is saying. Such an interpretation takes the passage out of its context. The next verses explain what “things on earth” Paul was talking about, a far different set of stuff to avoid than being of service to others. It says,
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, (Colossians 3:5-10)Being heavenly minded, in this context, means thinking about the nature of Christ and how I will be like Him one day. Because this is true, then I need to put off all those things that are not like Him, the earthly sinful stuff listed in these five verses.
In other words, being heavenly minded means no sinful desires, no sinful attitudes, no sinful language, and no sinful actions. I’m supposed to behave like the One in heaven who gave His life for me.
Paul might have said that being of earthly good means that I start by leaving behind my selfishness. Instead of using this passage to justify hiding in my Christian circles to avoid the world’s needs, I’m to make sure my life is clean. The rest of Colossians 3 gives all sorts of things that should be true of me, things that will change the way that I relate to people, those in my church, in my family, and in the world. God is asking for the kind of heavenly mindedness that makes for dramatic changes in my life. These changes will be good for me and for everyone around me.
It is easier to just cry out against injustice, sinful practices in the marketplace, short-sighted government policies, exploitation of the helpless and so on, than it is to do something. It is easier to stay at my desk with my mind in my Bible than it is to move against evil or simply move and do good things. These thoughts challenge my selfishness.
Pioneer missionary William Carey said, “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.” This was in the prayer that blessed me yesterday morning, and it echos from these devotional thoughts today. Both make me realize that I have not arrived and need to be obedient and press on.
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