Fear. Hatred. Lack of Forgiveness. Fear. Suspicion. Skepticism. Fear. Holding a grudge. Seeking revenge. Did I say fear?

Those are some of the emotions common to many folks, especially in our culture today. Wrong emotions toward people which are not dealt with.

But perhaps the one I see the most these days is fear. Fear was ramped up about 2 years when the COVID pandemic hit.  People were gripped with fear, living in fear so much that their daily life changed. Afraid to interact. Afraid to shake hands. Afraid to go out of their house. Afraid, it seemed, to even look in the mirror (slight exaggeration. Sorry couldn’t resist).

Sadly, even those who quoted 2 Timothy 1:7- “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline” lived and still live in fear. Call me skeptical but that smacks of hypocrisy.

So…how do we break free? Colossians 3:1-2 tells us: “Therefore…keep seeking…Set your mind on the things that are above…” Yes, I know it is easy to say, but hard to do. But Paul didn’t write those words so he could waste ink. Read further in that chapter and you can see that it applies to more than just fear. Those words apply to our thought life, what we say to others. In fact, check out verses 8-9: Anger. Check. Wrath. Check. Malice. Check. Slander. Check. Obscene speech. Check. Lying. Check. Now take a glance at my opening list.

So…where are your eyes?

“Father, help me to set my eyes on You not on the world, nor the things going on in the world. That would only lead to worry and angst and fear. Help me to set my eyes on things above.”