Setting Our Minds on Things Above

It’s time for a New Year’s resolution check-in. Did you make one, and if so, how is that going?

A few years ago, I heard someone being interviewed on a podcast about New Year’s resolutions. They gave some statistics stating that 43% of people quit their resolutions by the end of January, and only about 9% keep their resolutions for the entire year. Wow! That’s not very encouraging, and it begs the question of why bother making a resolution to begin with.

The podcast guest went on to say that he no longer makes resolutions but instead comes up with a yearly theme to live by. This idea really resonated with me, and I have adopted this as an annual practice.

The Bible is full of encouragements and exhortations like this one in Colossians 3:2: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” If you are like me, keeping all of Scripture’s exhortations and commands at the forefront of my mind can sometimes feel challenging. I’ve found it helpful to listen to the Spirit’s prompting and focus on one or two areas in particular that will keep my heart centered on Christ and “things above.” My yearly theme is born out of this.

Last December, I began to pray through what my theme would be for the coming year and settled on “be more curious and less judgmental,” which came from these verses:

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. Colossians 3:12–13

Even though we are already halfway through the year, I encourage you to consider choosing a theme, perhaps from the verses above, to help keep you centered on Jesus in the coming months. Let’s press on together as we seek to set our minds on Him!

Paul Bradley
VP for Affiliate and Foreign Military Ministries