Thoughts matter. Your mind is a muscle that needs to be exercised, disciplined, and trained as an athlete prepares for competition and events. What’s your mindset? What do your thoughts dwell on? Drink, drugs, doom, death? Greed and filth? Do you live in fear and worry? Are you drifting and distracted? There is something better for you in Christ. Set your mind on things above, set your mind on things of the Spirit.
Our thoughts are often on cruise-control, and too much of our lives today are distracted, chasing down rabbit trails, following threads and links, or getting caught up in the latest “hot take.” We are unfocused, drifting, scattered. We lack purpose and direction, wandering and meandering from here to there and back again, down one rabbit trail and up another. If you’re still reading this, praise God!
Our minds also get weak and lazy, but being distracted is not who you are to be in Christ. The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. You were saved in Christ for something greater. You are not condemned but free, free to set your mind on the things of the Spirit, like life and peace and what pleases God. You were not set free for time-wasting. You were not set free for hostility to God or not pleasing Him. Set your mind on things above, things of the Spirit. Set your mind on worship, praise, and hope. You don’t want to get to the end of life and realize “what a waste.” Christ is too glorious, too precious, too wonderful to waste your life, setting your mind on the flesh and fleshy things and things of this world.
Hans and Frans from Saturday Night Live didn’t want you to be weak and flabby. Pump it up! Setting your mind on the Spirit takes purpose, focus, guts, and will. You take every thought captive and preach to yourself, “Mind, tighten up! Pull it together! I will focus and set you on things of the Spirit.” Choose to turn the TV or video game off. You don’t need to watch 24/7 news or sports or podcasts. Beware: setting your mind on things that don’t glorify God or oppose God will get you death. Those who are set on the flesh cannot please God. But you are free in Christ, if you are free in Christ. Set your mind on things above, things of the Spirit.