Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Reflection
Have you read the story about the old Cherokee who was teaching his grandson about life? The wise old sage began by saying, “A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One is evil—he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
“The other is good—he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
The same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
The Apostle Paul basically wrote the same thing to the Colossians around 2,000 years ago.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
Paul told the Colossians to put to death such things as sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed. He told them to get rid of all the evil things such as anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language.
But just ridding our lives of these things isn’t enough.
Jesus told a parable of an evil spirit that left a man but returned with seven other spirits even more wicked. The spirits went back to reside in the man, making matters worse than before.
We can’t just try to remove bad habits and sinful behavior. First, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit. We must also rely on the Spirit to fill us with the good stuff. Things Paul calls the Fruit of the Spirit in his letter to Galatians.
These are basically the same things he told the Colossians—to clothe themselves with: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Paul told them to bear with one another and to forgive whatever grievances they had against one another. He told them to forgive as Jesus forgave them.
I don’t know about you, but when I read that passage it removes all the excuses I have to hold a grudge, especially when I remember that Jesus said if we don’t forgive men their sins that God won’t forgive our sins. That’s more than enough reason to forgive others. The result is eternal, one way or the other.
But I know from experience that when I don’t forgive, when I hold a grudge, that the wolves are at war within me and the one that is evil—the one that is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego—is winning. And I’m full of rage, not peace.
Paul told the Colossians to let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts. It’s a fruit of the Spirit but it can’t reside in a heart that is full of anger, rage and the like.
For too many years I’ve tried fighting this battle basically alone. Sure, I’ve prayed about getting the sins out of my life. And I’ve struggled and struggled to do so.
But we aren’t alone. Jesus has given us his Spirit. We need to claim the Spirit’s fruit and we need to rely on the Spirit to win the fight.
Which wolf are you feeding?
by Rick Reed
For Pondering and Prayer
It’s so important and the things we set our minds on. That’s why Paul told us to set our minds on things about, not earthy things.
Prayer: Oh Lord, help us to learn to set our minds on things above. There is so much garbage that we come in contact with, we need to set our minds on things above. So, help us God. Amen.
