"Misplaced Affections"

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth".  Colossians 3:2

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also".  Matthew 6:19-21

"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal".  2 Corinthians 4:18

"Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven".  Proverbs 23:5

I don't consider myself "old" but I have lived long enough to see many things happen that remind me of just how temporary the things of this life are.  Floods that destroy the things we have worked so hard to attain.  Tornadoes that have taken away everything we possess.  Fire that consumes a lifetime of treasures and reduces them to mere ashes.  The bombing of buildings that wipe out years of records, transactions and wealth.

In just a matter of days, hours or even minutes the things that we deem important, the things that we have worked hard to attain, the things that we have poured "blood, sweat and tears" into, the things that have consumed our time, talents and efforts, the things that we hold dear as treasures can be gone-- all that is left is a memory.

This morning the Lord has laid on my heart that we need to become refocused.  We have set our affections on things below and lost sight of what is truly valuable.  Riches come and go-- they are temporary.  Houses, lands, and material possessions come and go-- they are temporary.  Riches can take wings and fly away.  Moths damage things.  Rust destroys.  Thieves steal our possessions.    

There is nothing wrong with having things.  The Lord Himself promised to meet all our need.  He promised that we would not lack.  Whatever we need, He will provide.  But the issue lies in what we have set our affections upon.  If our hope, our joy, our peace is attached to material things, then when material things-- which are temporary-- are gone, so is our hope, joy and peace.  

We not only have to refocus, but we have to reattach ourselves to what is eternal.  We have to reattach ourselves to things that are above-- which have eternal value.  Moth, rust, thieves, flooding, bombing, tornadoes, fire, economic collapse, draught, etc., can't take away or destroy what is eternal.  When our affections are set on things above not on things below, when we are more attached to the eternal than the temporary, when our focus is above, they can't take away our peace, our hope or our joy.  Why?  Because it is anchored in something greater.  It is anchored in something that will never pass away.  It is anchored in something more powerful.  It is anchored in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal One, the Prince of Peace, our Blessed Hope, our Strength and Joy. 

Have a great day.  We need to refocus and reattach ourselves to that which is eternal, not temporary.