You ever catch yourself staring at your phone, just scrolling endlessly, wondering why your heart feels so restless? Like something’s missing even though, on paper, life looks okay? Here’s a wild thought: maybe your affection is tethered a little too tightly to things that rust and fade. Paul got it exactly right when he said, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). For anyone walking in grace and rightly dividing the Word, that’s not just a nice idea—it’s a survival strategy in a world desperate to snatch our focus.
What Does “Setting Your Affection on Things Above” Really Mean?
I’ve heard that phrase tossed around like a spiritual slogan—sometimes it feels like just one more weight on busy Christian lives. But when you peel back the layers, it’s actually a divine invitation. It’s about shifting where your heart lives. Your affection, your desires, your daily thoughts—what you chase after in those quiet moments when no one’s watching—should be anchored in the eternal, not the temporary.
Imagine your heart is a compass. If it’s pointing at earthly things—money, status, comfort—it’s going to wander a lot. But when oriented to “things above,” that compass zeroes in on Christ and His kingdom, steady and unshakable. This is how grace changes everything. It doesn’t just add rules to your life; it rewires your cravings.
Grace and the Freedom to Redirect Your Heart
Let’s be honest. The flesh loves its fixations—whether it’s achievement, approval, or just plain old comfort. We live in a culture screaming, “Grab what you can, while you can!” That noise drowns out the gentle whisper of the Spirit telling you there’s more than what the eye can see.
Walking in grace means you’re not bound by “do this, don’t do that” legalism. No, you’re learning to live by the Spirit’s power, which empowers you to set your affection “on things above.” You are not striving to earn God’s love—He’s already given it in full at the cross. And that exact love is what redirects your heart from the here-and-now to the forever.
How Do You Know if Your Affection is Misplaced?
Simple test. What wakes you up in the morning? What do you think about in the quiet? Are your heartstrings pulled toward temporary stuff—like “I can’t wait to get that raise” or “Finally, some peace on my schedule today”? Those things aren’t bad in themselves; God gave us jobs, rest, blessings. But if your affection is there more than on the promises of God’s kingdom, it’s like you’re trying to build your life on sand.
Some days, your soul may feel dry or restless. Maybe you catch yourself frustrated with worldly things that never seem to satisfy. That’s a clue, friend. The ticker on your spiritual GPS is saying: “Recalibrate.”
What Does Setting Your Affection Look Like Practically?
Here’s where the rubber meets the road. This isn’t about checking a theological box. It’s not just prayer and Bible reading as rituals. It’s a heart orientation, a daily practice of filing your thoughts and desires under “Eternal” instead of “Ephemeral.”
One practical step: when you catch yourself obsessing over a problem or craving a comfort, pause and ask, “What does heaven have to say about this?” Then go search for that answer in Scripture. Phil reminds us in Philippians 4:8 to dwell on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely—heaven’s virtues. We have to train ourselves here.
Another: Embrace longing for what we don’t see yet. We walk by faith, not sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). So rather than despair about what’s missing, shift to anticipating what’s coming. That turns suffering, frustration, and even boredom into holy waiting rooms where faith grows.
What About Earthly Responsibilities? Do They Clash With This?
Not at all. The enemy wants us to feel guilty for caring about jobs, families, and daily life. But here’s the kicker: all these things are not the ultimate affection centers. They’re channels for God’s grace. You serve your family, work your job, clean your house because you love God, not because you want those things to be your heart’s treasure.
Jesus never said abandon your life here. He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). When the kingdom is your priority, every natural responsibility flows from the supernatural. Even suffering has meaning—it refines us and makes us thirst for the real.
Grace Believers and the Power of the Word
For those of us who rightly divide the Word, aligning our affection above is woven with understanding grace. It’s not about earning closeness to God through performance or mystical feats. It’s about resting in what Christ accomplished and letting that rest free our hearts from the slavery of this age.
The Word recalibrates affection by renewing our minds. Romans 12:2 is crystal clear: do not conform to this world. This is not legalism but spiritual sanity. When grace roots into your understanding, you see that the “things above” are already yours in Christ. You’re not chasing a mirage but claiming an inheritance.
So, How Do You Keep Your Eyes on the Prize?
Let’s be real: distractions are relentless. They pounce when you’re weary and when you’re high on success. You must get intentional. Put your faith in practice by memorizing verses that remind you where your mind should dwell. When your heart drifts, bring it back, not with guilt but with gentle, persistent grace.
This could look like starting or ending your day meditating on heavenly promises, or asking the Holy Spirit to reveal affection misplacements when you pray. You can even use devotional sites that keep your spirit engaged. For instance, daily verses on God’s promises give bite-sized reminders that fuel your upward gaze.
Your affection, after all, is the soil from which actions and attitudes grow. When that soil is rich in “things above,” every part of life bears a different fruit.
You know, it’s liberating. When you realize the kingdom is your treasure, the earthly stuff stops wobbling your confidence. Problems don’t disappear but lose their power to steal your peace. That’s what it means to be a grace believer truly living in the Spirit, with affection not locked on “what’s next,” but “what’s forever.”
If you’ve ever felt the tug of the temporal, remember: you’re called to something higher. Don’t settle for worldly cravings that fade like mist. Set your affection on the unseen, on the unshakeable, on the God who reigns forever.
If you want to dig deeper into scripture that lifts your eyes to the heavens, you can find lots of soul-stirring passages at Scripture to inspire your spiritual journey. Keep feeding the right part of your heart—your eternal affection depends on it.