Colossians 3

Colossians 3:2

Where Are Your Affections? Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.—Colossians 3:2 (AV).Boys and girls are constantly setting their affections on certain things.In an Industrial School which I know, I noticed that the boy who wore “buttons” seemed very interested in his work. He opened the door with the solemnity of a grand footman: he helped to hand round the cakes at the annual tea-meeting with the bearing of a trained waiter. “You will be a waiter yet, and a good one,” I said to myself. His affections were set on that above everything else. Doubtless the superintendent watched him, and would give him the necessary chance. It reminded me of a story I heard about a man who had risen to great wealth and power from being a poor boy.

Someone said to him one day with a sneer, “I remember when you used to black boots.” “Yes,” answered the other; “and didn’t I always black them well?” He had set his affections on getting on, and had succeeded. These were wise boys.

Here is a story about another.A poor Italian greengrocer, living in France, was saying good-bye to her boy. She had great ambitions for him. “My boy,” she said, “when you come back, try to come back somebody .” The boy reached Paris and managed to get a situation in which he worked very hard. When other fellows were out swinging their canes and smoking, he was trying to learn things. His study was just a little attic. He worked on and on; he had set his affections on being somebody. One day a great man was taken ill, so that he could not prepare a speech he had promised to deliver. He sent to the attic for this young man, and asked him to take his place. The young man did it, and his speech made a great stir.

Next morning, everyone was asking—“Who is the fine orator?” He rose until, at thirty-two, he was the leader of Paris, and the greatest speaker of the Republic. When he died men said, “The Republic has lost its greatest man.” His name was Gambetta; some of the big boys and girls may have heard of him. His life is an example of perseverance and industry.But the text says, “Set your affection on things above.” People who have the best of success in this world are apt to forget that there is a heaven. During a walk through the woods a gentleman believed he had lost a watch-trinket on which he set great value. He retraced his steps, but no longer saw the graceful outline of the trees, the green abundance of the leaves, and the tracery of the white clouds upon the blue sky. He was looking downwards among the fallen and parched leaves, the scanty grass, the gnarled roots, and the fragrant-less weeds which bordered his pathway.

One bit of gold made him alive to what was below him, and dead to what was above him. Money can draw away men’s hearts from the beautiful facts of the spiritual life to the refuse and weeds of the world.

The Christian looks up and not down.There was a famous painter called Guido. One day he was asked from what models he got his beautiful female faces. Guido called to a dirty, ugly-looking Italian beggar, and told him to stand looking up to the sky. Then the painter took a brush, and painted a most lovely woman’s face. The beautiful thought was in himself. It did not matter how ugly the model was. Boys and girls, if we have high and beautiful thoughts the ugliness that is in the world cannot hurt us.You say you cannot understand what is meant by setting your affections on things above. In the form of an Allegory, Bunyan tells the story of a man who had come to realize that to set one’s affections on the world meant, in the end, destruction.

He felt very miserable, and did not know what to do. Setting out to escape from it, he met a man called Evangelist. “What shall I do?” he cried. “Do you see yonder wicket gate?” Evangelist asked. The man said “No.” Then said the other, “Do you see yonder shining light?” He said, “I think I do.” Then said Evangelist, “Keep that light in your eye, and go up directly thereto, so shalt thou see the gate; at which when thou knockest, it shall be told what thou shalt do.”Boys and girls, you know the shining light. Does it not come to you when you read a book telling of noble deeds? It comes to you sometimes when you have said your prayers. You feel it when you sing certain hymns. You sing “Nearer my God to Thee,” don’t you? And at times you imagine you understand the words.

It is the shining light. To repeat the words of Evangelist, “Keep that light in your eye, and go up directly thereto; so shalt thou see the gate, at which when thou knockest, it shall be told what thou shalt do.”On what are you setting your affections?

Colossians 3:15

“Thank You” Be ye thankful.—Colossians 3:15. I wonder if you ever noticed how often St. Paul reminded those to whom he wrote to say “thank you.” I expect he found that people in his day were just as ready to forget that little word as we are today.Sometimes your parents have to remind you to say “please” and “thank you,” and you don’t like it; still, you do say these words, because you know you won’t get what you wish without them. Now, I want you to learn to say “thank you” not only with your lips— that is easy enough—but with your whole heart, which is a very much bigger thing.But what does it mean to say “thank you” with your heart? Well, I think it just means making the best of the things you have, being glad that you have them, and grateful to God for sending them. It means looking on the bright side, and putting all ugly grumbling and complaining right out of your way. And I think, too, it means trying to do something to make somebody else happy because of the good things that have come your way.Now, I want to give you three big reasons why we should try to grow a “thank you” heart.

Because, you know, it is a thing everybody can grow if they begin early enough, and try hard enough, and ask God to help them.1. The first big reason is that it makes you happy.It’s a strange thing, but a true one, that the more we grumble and complain about things, the more we seem to have to grumble and complain about, and the more we thank for, the more we seem to have to thank for. The same things look very different if we look at them in a different way.When you wake up in the morning of a chill and cheerless day And feel inclined to grumble, pout or frown, Just glance into your mirror and you will quickly see It’s just because the corners of your mouth turn down. Then take this simple rhyme, Remember it in time, It’s always dreary weather in countryside or town When you wake and find the corners of your mouth turned down.

If you wake up in the morning full of bright and happy thoughts And begin to count the blessings in your cup, Then glance into your mirror and you will quickly see It’s all because the corners of your mouth turn up. Then take this little rhyme, Remember all the time, There’s joy a-plenty in this world to fill life’s cup If you’ll only keep the corners of your mouth turned up. (Lulu Linton.)Some of you read fairy tales. And you know that very often the story turns upon the possession of some wonderful charm that will make disagreeable things nice, that will change an ugly beast into a beautiful prince, or open the door into some treasure cave.Well, we each possess a magic charm that will make ugly things beautiful and disagreeable things nice, a charm that will make “the corners of our mouth turn up” and lead the way into the treasure cave of happiness. And what do you think the name of that charm is? It is just “Thankfulness.”Once upon a time there was an old lady who had had a great many troubles and worries, but her face was so sweet and happy that everybody liked to look at it. One day a fretful woman came to her and asked how it was she always seemed so happy. And what do you think the old lady said?

Well, she told her fretful friend that the secret of her happiness was that she kept a Pleasure Book. Every evening for years and years she had written down in this book something nice that had happened to her that day.

And she had never missed an evening. She had always found something to write in the book. It might be a very little thing—a pleasant walk, a visit from a friend, a cheering letter—but down it went.So if you want to be happy count up all the nice things that happen to you. That is just one way of saying “thank you” for them; and you will be surprised how many you will have to count.1. But the second reason why we should be thankful is bigger than the first one, and it is that we make other people happy. It makes others glad when they see us wearing a cheerful countenance, and it makes them glad when we thank them for the little services they do to us.Several years ago a lady was coming out of a public building when the heavy door swung back and prevented her exit.

A street urchin sprang forward and held the door open for her, and as she passed through she smiled on him and said, “Thank you.”“Did ye hear that?” exclaimed the urchin to a small companion. “Hear what?” “She said ‘Thank you’ to the likes o’ me!”The lady was much amused. “Why, it always pays to be polite,” she said, and thought no more about the incident.Some years later the same lady was doing Christmas shopping. She received exceptional courtesy from one shop-walker whom she thanked.

The man said, “Pardon me, madam, but you gave me my first lesson in politeness.”Then he explained that he was the urchin who had held open the door for her years before and that her courteous “Thank you” had given him the ambition to do something in the world. The very next day he had gone and offered himself as message boy in the establishment where now he held a position of trust.2. But the biggest reason of all why we should try to grow a thankful heart is that God loves to have our thanks. He loves to have them and we so seldom give them to Him.There is a legend which tells how the Angel of Prayer and the Angel of Thanksgiving were sent down to earth with two huge baskets to gather up the desires of men and bring them back to God. And very soon the Angel of Prayer had his basket full to overflowing, while the basket of the other Angel was almost empty.We are always ready to ask God to grant our requests, and He loves to hear our prayers, but when He sends us what we ask for we very often forget to thank Him. Do you think it is quite fair? Remember God loves to receive our thanks too, and He never despises the “thank you” of the smallest child.