What is the most important thing in your life? Your answer to that question is vitally important, because it will determine the choices you make in the days and years ahead. We are all confronted with choices and decisions every day, and those choices determine our future. Indeed, our very character is shaped by the choices we make. Ultimately, whether or not we are in the group that Jesus Christ gathers to Him at His coming—to whom He says: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34)—will depend upon the choices that we make.
That is why it is important to examine where we are setting our affections. Where we set our affections shows what is important to us. Many people throughout time have loved the wrong things, and have made their choices accordingly. Many lives have been wrecked, as a result, by incredibly shortsighted choices.
Examples from Scripture show us the consequences of how we set our affections, and can help us understand more fully what we need to love the most—and why. When you really understand it, “What do you love the most?” may be the most important question you will ever answer!
Love of This Present World
What would it have been like to have known the Apostle Paul personally, and to have accompanied him on his journeys? Can you imagine what it would have been like to have heard his sermons, seen the miracles that God performed through him, and spent long hours in conversation with him, discussing God’s plan and purpose? We may think that if we had been given the opportunity to spend time with some of the great men of the Bible, we could far more easily maintain a spiritual frame of mind. Yet this is not necessarily true at all!
In Philemon 24, Paul speaks of Demas, whom he describes as a “fellow laborer.” Demas is also mentioned in Colossians 4:14, where he is linked with Luke the beloved physician in sending greetings to the Colossian brethren. Clearly, Demas had known the Apostle Paul well for years. He spent time with Paul during his first Roman imprisonment, and must have carried out many important tasks for Paul—even preaching the gospel in Paul’s stead when Paul was restricted to house arrest.
Paul had a strong work ethic, so his calling Demas a fellow laborer clearly implies that Demas also worked hard in the ministry, and that Paul had esteem and respect for him and his efforts.
In spite of all this, Paul saw later on that Demas had set his affections on the wrong things. In 2 Timothy 4:10, written just months before Paul’s execution at the end of his second Roman imprisonment, Paul gave Timothy the sad news that Demas had left the Church. “Demas has forsaken me,” he wrote, “having loved this present world.” For all of the effort that Demas had devoted to preaching the gospel, and the hundreds of hours he had spent with Paul, Demas had never completely, in his heart, turned loose of this world.
If you are in love with the world, you cannot truly love God. The values at the core of this society are the antithesis of the things of God (1 John 2:15–17), and will ultimately be relegated to the “dust bin” of history, along with the society that they define. How much do you love this world and its ways?
Loving the Preeminence
Many people want to be thought of as important. They desire status, and this inevitably leads to jealousy and politics. This desire has caused “spiritual shipwreck” for some in our day, but it is nothing new. This same misplaced affection was also at work in the lives of many who interacted with some of God’s greatest servants, as recorded in the Bible.
Most Bible students are familiar with the account of the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram described in Numbers 16. As is so often the case, the things of which they accused Moses were really the things of which they themselves were guilty! Korah claimed that Moses was taking too much upon himself (v. 3), while Dathan and Abiram declared that the whole reason behind the Exodus was so that Moses could make himself a prince and be in charge (v. 13). Of course this charge was patently ridiculous. If Moses had simply wanted to be a “big shot,” he could have been one by staying in Egypt as a prince! Moses did not love the preeminence; he was the meekest man in all the earth (Numbers 12:3), and was content to have remained in the land of Midian as a shepherd. Yet Korah and others, in love with status and desiring to be considered important, chose to rebel against God’s servant Moses, and actually against God Himself.
Toward the very end of his life, John (the beloved disciple) had to deal with individuals in the Church who were trying to “take over” because they loved to be thought of as important. Diotrephes was such a person (3 John 9). Diotrephes had actually become so bold as to put out of the Church those who remained loyal to the truth and to the Apostle John’s leadership. Diotrephes wanted to be “in charge” and was prepared to walk over others in order to achieve that status.
Diotrephes, though he claimed to be a Christian, displayed an attitude contrary to everything that Christ personally taught and stood for. In Matthew 23, for example, Jesus Christ denounced the Pharisees because of their desire to be considered important. They loved status and all of its trappings, and were highly important in their own eyes. They were continually plotting and politicking to get “one up” on the Sadducees, and even on one another. This was completely contrary to the example of Jesus Christ, surely the most truly important man ever to walk the earth. Christ voluntarily emptied Himself of the divine power and glory that He had shared with the Father from eternity, and came in the form of a servant so that He might serve and redeem humanity (Philippians 2:5–8). Those who are in love with status do not please God, nor do they have the mind of Christ.
Loving the Praise of Men
While some love power and status, many others simply want the approval and affirmation of others. King Saul was such a man, and many of his bad decisions were driven by a desire to receive the approbation of others. For instance, in the account given in 1 Samuel 15, Saul transgressed God’s clear command to destroy completely the Amalekites and their property. Why? As he finally admitted to Samuel in verse 24, he did so to win the people’s approval, even though this directly contradicted God’s instructions. For Saul, as for many others, people seemed far more real than God did!
Jesus Christ performed many dramatic signs, providing clear evidence that He was truly who He said He was—Israel’s Messiah. The gospel of John in particular makes this point plain, focusing on seven specific signs of His Messiahship. John also records that even though many of the religious leaders saw, and were impressed by, these signs, they would not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. What could hold them back from such a confession? John explained that they simply “loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43). The Pharisees had already agreed to expel from the synagogue anyone who acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. The thought of such ostracism was too much for many, even if they knew the truth deep down.
How important to you are the opinions of others? Jesus told many religious leaders of His day that they simply did not have the love of God abiding in them! That was evident, He said, because they sought the honor that came from other people far more than they sought that which came from God alone (John 5:42–44). Because of this way of thinking, many religious people made (and still make) a great outward show of their charity and religious expression (Matthew 6:1–6). Christ instructed His followers that they should make such expressions privately and anonymously. If we are after recognition and approval by other people, we may achieve it, but this will take us away from the most important approval there is—God’s approval. It all comes down to the question: Whose approval do we love the most?
The Love of Money
For many people, the love of money motivates their decisions. Corporate decisions that have bankrupted pension plans, while enriching a handful at the top, have been largely motivated by the love of money. So have many decisions in the food production industry. Agribusiness has sought maximum profits, heedless to the dangers of wearing out the land and compromising consumer health through the use of chemicals, growth hormones and genetic engineering. Our national rape of the land, and refusal to let it rest as God instructed, is one of the reasons that our nation will go into captivity (Leviticus 26:34–35).
People have betrayed their countries and sold out family and community, all for the love of money. Others have entered into contracts to commit every kind of crime, including murder, all for money. There is practically no immoral or degrading act that someone somewhere has not performed for money. In fact, Paul told Timothy that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).
In the early chapters of 2 Kings, we find the story of the prophet Elisha—one of the most remarkable servants of God who ever lived. Elisha was a man of great faith, through whom God worked many miracles. Gehazi, his servant, was with Elisha a number of years and witnessed many miracles. Surely, you would think, a man privileged to live in such remarkable circumstances would have his priorities right. That is not necessarily the case, however. Note in 2 Kings 5 the story of the Syrian general Naaman, who suffered from leprosy. Serving Naaman’s wife was a young Israelite girl who had been taken captive in one of the continual wars and border skirmishes that were taking place at that time. This young girl felt sorry for her master, and told her mistress about the prophet Elisha, assuring her that through Elisha, Naaman could be healed. This was the only glimmer of hope that Naaman had found, so the Syrian king sent Naaman to Israel to seek help from Elisha.
At first, Naaman was quite perturbed, because Elisha did not act in the way that he expected. Instead of making some great dramatic scene, Elisha simply sent word for Naaman to bathe in the Jordan River seven times. Naaman’s first reaction was to refuse to obey such a seemingly senseless request; nevertheless, he decided to follow the prophet’s instructions. As a result, he experienced a dramatic healing. Overcome with a spirit of gratitude, Naaman returned to the prophet’s home and offered Elisha a substantial financial reward. Elisha declined the reward, as God’s true servants have always recognized that God’s gracious gifts are not for sale. Gehazi, however, witnessed Naaman’s offer and was overcome by greed, coveting the wealth that Naaman carried with him. A little later, when Gehazi thought Elisha was not paying attention to his actions, he took off after Naaman, caught up with his caravan, and told him a contrived story that an emergency had arisen and had caused Elisha to change his mind. The truth was that Gehazi loved money, and could not resist the opportunity to enrich himself.
Elisha, with God’s inspiration, knew exactly what Gehazi had done, and confronted him about his choice. Gehazi was then stricken with the dread disease of which Naaman had been supernaturally healed. Gehazi’s love of money produced horribly destructive consequences in his life.
We can change our affections, and consequently our priorities in life. Such an example is recounted in Luke 19, in Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus the publican in Jericho. Zacchaeus had been a tax collector in the employ of the Roman government, and had used his position to enrich himself unjustly. Zacchaeus’ reputation in the community reflected the kind of life he had led, and many were shocked that Jesus would eat and spend time with such a man. However, as a result of his encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus’ priorities and affections totally changed. He announced to Jesus, shortly after they arrived at his home, that he was going to give half of his goods to help the poor, and that he would refund fourfold the amount that he had cheated anyone. No longer was the love of money the driving force in his life (v. 8).
Where To Set Our Affections
The Apostle Paul brought out one of the most important keys to personal growth and overcoming: “Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). Where we set our affections will largely determine the priorities we set, and the choices we make. One of Jesus’ best-known parables, recounted in Luke 10, is the story of the “good Samaritan.” The two individuals who passed by the wounded man considered themselves deeply religious people—a priest and a Levite. If you had asked them if they believed in loving their neighbor as themselves, they would certainly have answered in the affirmative, for they were very familiar with God’s injunction to do so (see Leviticus 19:15–18). This is a crucial point: our genuine affection is shown far more by our actions than by our words. Regardless of the beliefs to which these religious men would have paid lip service, their actions showed that helping others in need was not really a very high priority with them.
Jesus gave this “good Samaritan” parable in response to a self-professed expert in religious law, who had asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life. Christ turned the question back on the questioner by acknowledging him as a teacher of the Torah, and asking him what he understood God’s instructions to be. The lawyer knew the right answer! He quickly responded that we are to love God with our whole heart (Deuteronomy 6:5), and that we should love our neighbor as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18). However, he made a crucial mistake. Instead of seeking Christ’s advice about how to apply these principles more fully, he wanted to argue, in true lawyerly fashion, about the definition of “neighbor.” He wanted to justify himself, and his choices in life, rather than truly to change.
It is not enough to know the right answers, or to believe the right beliefs. We must each examine the very core of our being to ascertain where we are setting our affections. What do we truly love the most? The way we spend both our time and money gives clear evidence about the priorities that we set in our lives. As many scriptural examples show, it is very easy even for those who “know the truth” to be in love with the wrong things. Genuine love of God is the source from which true love of one another (1 John 4:20–21), as well as true obedience to God’s laws (1 John 5:3), will flow.
Where we set our affections will truly determine all manner of decisions that we make in life. What do you really love the most?