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SCRIPTURE READINGS

• ECCLESIASTES 2:18-23
• COLOSSIANS 3:1-11
• LUKE 12:13-21

SUNDAY REFLECTION

Set your heart on things above is the theme for our Sunday reflection. To set one’s heart on something means to have a strong desire or affection for the thing. The theme can thus be rephrased as “have a stronger desire for heavenly things than the ephemeral things on earth. It also means to be heaven-focused. To set your heart on things above, we shall consider the following facts:

1. The vanity of our toil on this earth must teach us to set our hearts on things above.
2. The vanity of covetousness or materialism must teach us to set our hearts on things above.
3. Salvation or having a new nature in Christ is the only way we can set our hearts on things above.

First, the vanity of our toil on this earth must teach us to desire the things above. Life on earth is too short for us to be working twenty-four hours a day (24/7) without focusing on eternity and our relationship with God. The greatest temptation of urbanisation and industrialisation is spending our entire life toiling, working or hustling day and night, but having little or no time to prepare our spirits for eternal life or things above. The writer of Ecclesiastes, who is believed to be King Solomon, observed and concluded that “I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This is also vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labours under the sun because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This is also vanity and a great evil. What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 2:18-22). In other words, you may work hard, yet you will not live to enjoy all that you have worked for. The question then is, what are we living for and what are we working for? Here is the answer: the world is a transit point; it is not our destination, but rather a place where we pass through on our way to eternity. Our bodies are merely vehicles in which our spirits indwell. The body will wear out just like a vehicle suffers rust after several years of use, then it is finally discarded. You may be strong today, but in the near or distant future, your body will become weak, because of ageing or ill health, and then eventually you die, leaving all that you have toiled or worked for your entire life. Some people even die young without enjoying the fruits of their labour on earth. Dear friend, do not be discouraged, set your heart on things above because Jesus assures us that “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; also believe in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, you may be also” (John 14:1-3).  It is important to be hard working but be heaven-conscious even as you toil for your daily bread.

Second, the vanity of materialism or covetousness must teach you to set your heart on things above. Materialism is the obsession with things of this world. Apart from the vanity of toiling, there is also the vanity of the things we have acquired or continue to acquire in life; these things can be taken away from us at any time by the creator. In Luke 12:13-21, Jesus taught about covetousness with the parable of the rich fool. The rich fool was more obsessed with his harvest than the giver of the harvest and consequently had his life taken by God for not acknowledging Him as the source of his blessings and success. (Luke 12:18-20) It is for this reason Jesus admonished us to “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15) Jesus again reminds us in Mark 8:26 that “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Therefore in Matthew 6:33, He admonished us to “… seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” We are also encouraged by Paul that “…the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. Anytime we become materialistic or obsessed with money and wealth, our hearts will no longer be set on things above but on things on earth.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19) Many youth of our time have become obsessed with the latest phones, cars, cosmetics, and anything one can think of that gives a person social status and class. Paul cautions us when he wrote that “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.” (Philippians 3:18-20)

Third, the only way to set your heart on things above is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, have a personal relationship with Him and imitate Him. Paul assures us that “…Since 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 life, appears, you will also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4) In other words, sin makes you set your heart and mind on things on earth, but with Jesus our Lord, we become new creations and therefore set our hearts on things above to be worthy of God’s glory. It is for this reason that Paul admonished us to  “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” (Colossians 3:5-9). You must have a new Christ-like nature to set your heart on things above.

In summary, we have reflected on the fact that the vanity of our toil (Ecclesiastes 2:18-23) and the vanity of our wealth or material things (Luke 12:13-21) teach us to set our minds on things above and not on things on earth, Again, having a new nature in Christ keeps our hearts on things above (Colossians 3:1-11). May the Holy Spirit grant us wisdom and discernment to appreciate the vanity of toiling and covetousness so that we may remain faithful to Christ and set our hearts on things above with our new nature. Amen.