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By: AJ Hochhalter You may listen to this devotion in audio form via podcast here.
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. When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Paul suggests that the Christian life is characterized by hearts and minds oriented towards Christ. In our world we can very easily wrap our minds around the idea of setting our minds on things above. We often think of ourselves as primarily thinking things. The phrase “I think therefore I am,” comes to mind… We’re good at thinking about Jesus, memorizing scripture, the catechism, “What is your only comfort…yada yada yada…” We know what we believe, and there are good reasons that we believe it.
But have you tried to think your way out of an unhealthy habit? It doesn’t work. We know what we shouldn’t do, and yet we do it. It feels good.
I know in my head that I should not continuously doom scroll through instagram instead of coloring with my kids or playing hide and seek. But whenever I get a free minute my impulse—my habit—is to grab the device and scratch my itch for fantasy football, bbq, and golf content. My habits shape my affections--and therefore the orientation of my heart—much more than my right thinking. Do I love my kids more than my phone? Obviously. But then why do I get annoyed with them when they interrupt my fantasy football podcast?
Paul instructs us to set both our minds and our hearts on things above. How do we do this? Well, since you have been crucified with Christ, you must “Put to death…whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry… You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.”
In essence, you used to practice these things and you were dis-oriented, walking in the wrong direction. Put them to death, be re-oriented, walk a new direction.
He continues, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
There is something implied here that is easy to miss: when we take off the old self, we also remove old habits. Therefore, when we put on the new self we must also put on new habits. Said another way: to put to death the old nature we must put to death not only our wrong thinking, but also the practices that were dis-orienting our hearts. We must then adopt new practices that will re-orient us towards Christ. As our affections grow more towards Christ we also grow in his likeness. We become what we love, and what we love is shaped by our habits.
We don’t study the scriptures, serve our neighbors, attend corporate worship, and live with Christian virtue to gain some level of righteousness—that we might contribute to our salvation some how. No, we do these things because we have already been raised with Christ and in these practices and rituals, God, by his Spirit, is shaping our affections and continually re-orienting our hearts toward himself.
So maybe some self-evaluation is appropriate now: what habit do you have in your life that is mis-directing your affections? Get rid of it, adopt a new practice, and re-orient your heart to things above, where Christ is.
Consider making this prayer—adapted from St. Augustine—your own:
Heavenly Father, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you: Look with compassion upon the heartfelt desires of your servants, and purify our disordered affections, that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of Christ Jesus; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.