“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”  - Colossians 3:2 ESV

We become more like what we focus on. 

Put another way, the things that fill our minds tend to shape who we become. The fancy-schmancy sciency term for that is neural mapping: where our brains start to prefer the patterns of thought we habituate, making it easier and easier to think it or do it again. 

The home chef who fills her free time with YouTube recipe videos and dreams about what could be next on the meal plan is likely going to regularly produce better food and love the kitchen more than the begrudging what-Trader-Joe’s-freezer-item-am-I-having-tonight kind of chef. 

The Apostle Paul talks about the same thing in Colossians 3:2: “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” If we become what we set our minds on, then it is of the utmost importance that we take great care to train our attention on the Kingdom of God. 

Should we not take great care to focus on the Kingdom, the chaos of the world will gladly fill that vacuum. Our minds will be flooded with news of political fighting, overwhelming tragedies, economic doomsaying, and absolute assurance that the people who think differently than you are both wrong and dangerous. What happens when you set your mind on fear, panic, anxiety, and anger? You guessed it… You start seeing that fruit in your life. 

But what if while all those same things happened in the world, we spent time dwelling on the goodness of God’s unchanging love, the breathtaking beauty of His sacrifice, and the rock-solid hope of a future when all sad things have become untrue? What happens when you set your mind on peace, love, and hope? You guessed it… You start seeing that fruit in your life. Fruit to feed, nourish, and delight a hurting and starving world. 

The key insight from Paul’s ancient wisdom for us today is this simple thought: you cannot change the headlines, but you can change the lens through which you see them. But it won’t happen by accident; it’ll happen when you spend time filling your mind with the goodness of “things above” as opposed to the roller-coaster of “things on earth.”