Where do your Affections lie? What is it that drives you? ? What excites you? What makes you happy? What satisfies you? Is it communion with God? Is it a person? Is it financial stability? Or the hope of wealth? Is it creating a legacy? Or power? Control? Does it revolve around sex? Around a drug? Alcohol? What gives you that warm, tingling feeling in the pit of your stomach when you think about it? What makes your chest leap? When your mind is not actively engaged in an activity, what do you think about? What do you daydream about? What do you hope for? When the thought of a certain activity crosses your mind and it pushes everything else out of your mind, what is that activity you’re thinking about? Our affections are the driving forces of our lives. Our time, energy, money, hope, and fear revolve around our affections. One could say our affections determine the ways in which we view ourselves and interact in this world. Not only is it easy but it’s seemingly natural to subject every aspect of life to our affections. Some of those aspects tend to be God and His Word.

Clearly our affections are powerful. As Emily Dickinson aptly wrote, “The Heart wants what it wants – or else it does not care”. Everyone wields this life-altering power. And with this power, many people ridicule or attack God and His Word, judging every aspect of life according to their affections. Others take a “less rebellious” approach and interpret (alter their perspective of) God and His Word according to their affections, virtually de-boning the Word so that they may subject righteousness to their desires.

Some may justify living a homosexual lifestyle because Jesus never mentioned the word “homosexuality” in any context. The refuse to accept that Jesus defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. Some may justify smoking weed because God gave us every herb for our use. They refuse to accept that we are called to be sober. Some people try to justify living according to the Torah (keeping kosher, tithing, etc.) because the Law is still in effect. They refuse to accept that the Law is a tutor – not binding to those who have learned its lesson and accepted the new covenant in Jesus. They subject the mercy of God to their shame. Some may justify sex outside of marriage because they say God’s grace is sufficient so long as they feel bad for what they do. They refuse to accept that our bodies are God’s temple and are to be pure, holy vessels by the work of Holy Spirit. Some people actually believe and teach that we are unpunishable, that we will not be held accountable for our actions so long as we believe Jesus is who He said He is. They refuse to acknowledge we will be judged by whether we do God’s will or not, that obedience is an effect of true love. Some people who have insatiable control issues justify the use of faith as a means to avoid any form of discomfort in this life. They refuse to accept we are called to live a vulnerable lifestyle with God, a lifestyle of humility.

It’s so easy to plan and live out our lives with our affections as our foundation. It’s so easy to follow our own spirit and call it the leading of Holy Spirit. It is so simple to read the word of God and see only that which we wish to see – to search for what we hope to find and stop reading once we find it. When we place our affections at the same level as or above God, we root ourselves in pride and arrogance. In every sense, we worship and exalt ourselves. Jesus calls us to deny ourselves. We cannot follow Him if we also entertain affections for things in this life. What is it you’re trying to get in this life? Our affections determine our destination. Our objects of affection are signs along the highway showing us where we’re going. Are you willing to consistently – daily – ask God to set your affections on Him alone? Are you willing to let go of the things this world has to offer? Are you willing to accept that we were not promised a little piece of Heaven in this life? Are you willing to forsake your objects of affection and surrender your will and desire to God’s will? If you’re willing to surrender your will, God will change you from the inside out. He will change your desires. Here’s a challenge: read the book of James. It’s a short book. Read it every day for a month. Here’s a simple prayer to go along with it.

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