More Than This World

Just the other day, I caught myself reaching for my phone to watch the funny TikToks my friends had sent me when I first woke up. Before I even thought about praying. Or thanking God for getting to live another day, doing a job I love. How crazy is that? That I was reaching for my phone before I even thought to thank God for allowing me to wake up, get out of bed and go to work. This wasn't because I was choosing to ignore God; it was because worldly distractions had become more of a habit than praying and reading my Bible had. Does this ever happen to you?

In Colossians 3:2, we are called to "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." Easier said than done, right?

Paul isn’t saying we ignore our responsibilities or stop living in the world around us; he is reminding us where our focus should ultimately rest. So often, earthly things fight for our attention: comparison, stress, wanting to succeed, do I fit in, plans, jobs and others' opinions. But here is the most important thing to remember: none of those things is eternal, yet we let them consume our thoughts and time.

Somewhere along the way, the earthly things that constantly surround me have turned my attention from what truly matters... Him. Notifications replaced sitting in silence with Him. Schedules replaced reading my Bible. Anxiety replaced worship. And before I realized it, I was doing everything except for spending time in my word and with God.

Coming to this realization hit way harder than I expected. I remember to this day where I was when I realized I was not doing what I was called to do.

I was sitting in the front pew of my Baptist Church in the middle of nowhere, listening to my preacher preach on 1 Corinthians. Now I will admit, I was kind of zoned out and not paying all that much attention to what was being said, but I was reading further down in the chapter when one verse stopped me. 1 Corinthians 10:21, "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of the demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons." This verse hit me like a ton of bricks. After reading this verse, I just got flashes of all the times I let earthly things distract me from Heavenly things. I realized that I was lost and I needed to find my way back. I had to be intentional with my time. My mind would immediately drift to earthly things even after I would first wake up. I had to create daily habits to keep my mind set on heavenly things.

Here are just a few of the daily habits I started.

I start my day by immediately praying and thanking God for another day. For allowing me to wake up and get out of bed. For opening the door to my dream job. For the protection of my family as we begin our days. And most importantly, for sending His one and only son to die on the cross for me.

For me, music is a big worldly vice for me. I notice the way I act and talk is reflected by the music I listen to. This was a hard one for me. I still find myself listening to music that I shouldn't. When this happens, I turn on my worship playlist and just take a few seconds to get my mind back where it needs to be.

These are just a few habits I try to stick too daily.

The world will always compete for our attention, but only God can truly satisfy us. Colossians 3:2 is a reminder to intentionally lift our eyes above the distractions. When we keep our minds focused on Him, we begin to see life differently. We have more peace, we are intentional with our time, we feel we have more purpose and most importantly, we have an eternal perspective that we were saved.

Our "Heavenly Things" tee is the perfect reminder of what Paul wrote in Colossians 3:2. We are here to further the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. And this shirt is the perfect reminder that we are called to share the gospel.

Quiet Time Questions 💬

• What earthly things have been taking up most of my thoughts lately?
• Am I spending more time consuming the world than connecting with God?
• How can I intentionally create more quiet time with the Lord?
• When I feel stress or comparison, where do I turn first?