I have often read Heb 10:34 with amazement: you took joyfully the plundering of your own property since you knew that you have a better possession, and an abiding one. Those people had truly progressed to the point that they had “the mind of the spirit,” as Paul calls it in Romans 8, rather than “the mind of the flesh.” The mind of the flesh cares about losing earthly possessions. The mind of the spirit knows that something better awaits, even if it cannot be seen yet.
What is your mind set on this morning? Are you concerned about a bill that needs paying, a doctor’s appointment that might reveal a serious problem, a job interview that could raise your standard of living, or simply how to fit that to-do list all in one 24 hour period?
Being responsible does mean taking things seriously, meeting one’s obligations regardless the cost, and fulfilling promises made to others. The question is, have those things consumed us to the point that they control our mindset? Are we anxious, irritable, and miserable, and do we allow that to effect our relationships with others?
Paul contrasts true spirituality with carnality in 1 Corinthians 3. He says that one is maturity and the other is “walking after the manner of men”—allowing the physical things of this life to direct our steps rather than the spirituality that should be our goal. Certainly if those first century brethren did not despair when their belongings were confiscated, shouldn’t we be able to live a life of joy in the relative ease we have today, even when by the world’s standards the things we must deal with at the moment are not that easy?
What is your mind on this morning?
For those who set their minds on the flesh mind the things of the flesh, but those who set their minds on the spirit, mind the things of the spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace, Rom 8:5,6.
Dene Ward
What is your mind set on this morning? Are you concerned about a bill that needs paying, a doctor’s appointment that might reveal a serious problem, a job interview that could raise your standard of living, or simply how to fit that to-do list all in one 24 hour period?
Being responsible does mean taking things seriously, meeting one’s obligations regardless the cost, and fulfilling promises made to others. The question is, have those things consumed us to the point that they control our mindset? Are we anxious, irritable, and miserable, and do we allow that to effect our relationships with others?
Paul contrasts true spirituality with carnality in 1 Corinthians 3. He says that one is maturity and the other is “walking after the manner of men”—allowing the physical things of this life to direct our steps rather than the spirituality that should be our goal. Certainly if those first century brethren did not despair when their belongings were confiscated, shouldn’t we be able to live a life of joy in the relative ease we have today, even when by the world’s standards the things we must deal with at the moment are not that easy?
What is your mind on this morning?
For those who set their minds on the flesh mind the things of the flesh, but those who set their minds on the spirit, mind the things of the spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace, Rom 8:5,6.
Dene Ward
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