Monday: End Earthliness
Daily Lesson for Monday 9th of March 2026
We hear many slogans today: “End war!” “End deforestation!” “End nuclear weapons!” But one we have probably never heard is “End earthliness!” That just doesn’t fit with the sensibilities of our world. Not that any of the other slogans are wrong or what they advocate is wrong. They’re just very shortsighted, considering the nearness of eternity. Our focus needs to be higher, eternally higher.
Read Colossians 3:5-6 (see also Romans 6:1-7). How do we experience what it means to be dead to self and to earthliness and alive to “those things which are above” (Colossians 3:1)?
Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com
Even though spiritually we have died with Christ, our “members”—that is, the temptations that our body and mind present us—need to be put to death.
But we should realize two things in connection with this command.
First, in Colossians 3:1, the Greek form that Paul uses assumes that we have, in fact, been raised with Christ. Second, the command in Colossians 3:5 is a consequence of that fact (“Therefore”). We can put to death earthly things (fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, etc.) only because we have been raised with Christ and have His spiritual life and power to put these things out of our minds and lives.
Interestingly, the only other occurrence in Greek of the exact phrase that appears in Colossians 3:6, “the wrath of God,” is in Romans 1:18. God “gives” people up to their own wicked ways, and so His wrath is also “coming” (see Revelation 6:16-17) “on those who are disobedient” (Colossians 3:6, NRSV). In Romans 1:18, Paul refers to “ungodliness and unrighteousness,” equating “uncleanness” (using the same Greek word found in Colossians 3:5) very specifically with people who indulge “the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies” (Romans 1:24, NKJV).
How do they dishonor their bodies? First, because they refuse to recognize the Creator but also by “vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful” (Romans 1:26-27, NKJV).
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How do we follow the words “mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth” (Colossians 3:5)? |
Most of us are aware, at least in principle, that hormones have a lot to do with our behaviour. We know that dopamine serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins affect our habits, desires, relationships and wellbeing. These are sometimes called “Happy Hormones” and that explains a little bit why we do certain things. We get a good feeling when they are created in our body.
The problem is that our body is not all that choosy about how we get those hormones. Food, drugs, sex, gaming, and alcohol can all play a part in releasing these hormones into our bodies, That is how we form habits.
It is worth knowing that good wholesome great-tasting food, exercise, getting sufficient sleep, sex within a committed relationship, owning a cat, laughter, listening to music, and eating chocolate also produce “Happy Hormones”
I don’t want to reduce our spirituality to mere chemistry, but we need to understand that the evil one exploits our gullibility in getting us to choose to be happy using the wrong sources.
Paul may not have known anything about hormones, but he understood their effect, and that fact that we can be seduced into hormonal happiness by evil,
… and in contrast
Of course, it would be naïve of me to suggest that spirituality is just chemistry but the point is that God wants to be our source of happiness and while chemistry is involved, it is more than just a good feeling. God promises everlasting joy that persists even after the chemistry has done its bit.
Many thanks to you Maurice!!
I ALWAYS look forward to your PRACTICAL comments. Keep on doing the things God has inspired you to do. It is of GREAT benefit to others.
God be praised!!
Enlightening
True Christian life is a battle. We know what we really want, to be heavenly-minded, but unfortunately some part of our being cannot let “earthliness” go. We genuinely believe we have been raised to newness of life with Christ (Colossians 3:1), but sadly, “earthliness” continues whispering to our ears. This is a continuous struggle between the heavenliness and the earthliness. Paul makes a passionate plea to bring to an end the earthliness in our lives.
“So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.” (Colossian 3:5, NLT).
Paul recognised this struggle in his own life. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans Romans 7:24, NLT). It is comforting to note that Paul found a solution to his miserableness, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, NIV). This is what last week’s lesson was talking about, “Complete in Christ”. Christ is all and all that we need in this life and for eternality. Sometimes, I go through “stuff” and I cry out like Paul, “what a miserable person I am”. Praise be to our gracious and merciful Lord Jesus, He sees and hears my cries and rescues from my “earthliness”.
Amen brother.Very profound n informative as always.
Thank you Omwenga. But how do we make these things happen in our life? Or, can we?
The answer is that we must, “want it.” And, we must “want it” so much that we will hunger and thirst for it (righteousness). We can only achieve this from the Holy Spirit. Our desire for pleasure is woven into our DNA, but the Holy Spirit can give us self control, if we “want it.” To get it, it will only come by prayer and in some cases, fasting, and feeding on God’s word.
Our prayers must be focused and deliberate. Holy Spirit, I give you permission to change me, to fix my likes and dislikes, my motives, my thought patterns, my envies, my pride, my unteachable spirit, etc. Ephesians 6:18 says that we must pray “in the Spirit” and do it without stopping (perseverance). This is experimental Christianity!
Dear Melvin,
I am truly happy that you have said it very well – “must want it.”. We must hunger and thirst for the heavenly things. We must make a deliberate and conscious choice to let the earthliness God. God will always work with us through the power Holy Spirit to overcome our weaknesses. It is God’s desire to see us become overcomes. He will strength our resolve. In our resolve, there a few practical steps we must take and God will come in to make them effective. For instance:
1. We must endeavour to improve our earnest prayer life.
2. We need to study the Word of God with a genuine desire to be changed. The Holy Spirit will bring powerful and transformational revelation and understanding.
3.We need to examine our worship experience. Worship brings heavenliness closer to reality.
4. We need to lessen the love for earthly things. We need to start being more generous and more people oriented.
5. We need to start to invest more on service for our fellow beings. We can give more of our time to voluntary service.
Above all, well must invite the Holy Sprit to guide and protect our thoughts.
In life we pursue the things we want and love most. Without much struggle we make time for what our hearts truly desire, while the things we do not like or value rarely appeal to us. As Paul the Apostle reminds believers in Epistle to the Colossians, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). He called for a generation whose minds would be set on things above, a people who would pass on to their children a heritage far more valuable than any material inheritance.
Earthliness damages relationships not only with God but also with spouses, business partners, clients, neighbours, and many others. A worldly mindset pushes us toward excessive selfishness, where our own interests become our chief concern. We begin to focus more on what we can get from others rather than what we can give to them. This is the reality of worldly-mindedness that Paul warned the Colossian church about, urging them to focus on heavenly things, to think more of God than of the flesh, and to guard themselves from false teachings and doctrines that could compromise their faith.
Consider Colossians 3:1–4: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” Our desire for heaven should not be about escaping earthly troubles, avoiding responsibilities, or fleeing relational conflicts. Neither should it be driven by the beauty of pearly gates, streets of gold, or even the presence of angels. Our deepest motivation for heaven is that God is there; we long for heaven because we are weary of earthliness and because Christ desires us to be with Him.
If we are not daily walking with Christ and hungering and thirsting after righteousness we will be bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness.
One thing I’ve learned is that new believers often struggle because they think the Christian life is about trying harder instead of learning to depend on Christ. When someone first comes to faith, they may sincerely want to “put to death” old habits, but without spiritual support and guidance it can feel like a cycle of trying, failing, and feeling discouraged.
Mentoring new converts means walking alongside them, not just telling them what to stop doing. It helps to remind them that spiritual growth is a process. They need consistent encouragement, prayer, and practical guidance in things like studying Scripture, building a relationship with Christ, and surrounding themselves with a supportive faith community.
It’s also important to help them understand that falling or struggling doesn’t mean their faith isn’t real. The Christian life is daily surrender.
As mentors or disciples in Christ, we can model patience, accountability, and grace, by helping them see that transformation comes through abiding in Christ, not just through willpower.
My grandfather became a Seventh-day Adventist when he was 80 years old; roughly 50 years after Grannie gave her heart to the Lord. Essentially, it was the quiet witness of my grandmother who convinced him that Jesus had something that he did not have. I still remember Grandad and Granny holding hands after he was baptised. Sometimes we try to work faster than God!
My grandfather never became a Seventh-day Adventist. Yet when my eldest Aunt came home after teaching in a public school in a neighboring state and told the family of 9 siblings and parents about the winter month where she was teaching, her entire class was sick except the Seventh-day Adventist children. She told her family that she had decided to become a Seventh-day Adventist. My grandmother reached up into the top cupboard of her kitchen and took down a book a colporteur had sold her two years earlier while everyone was out working on the farm or some working for another farmer thrashing hay for 50cents a day. They started reading at the dinner table and when they arrived to the page on unclean meat in Bible Readings For the Home, they all quit eating pork except my grandfather and he said when I eat pork I will go out to the closest restaurant to eat. Oh, they all became Seventh-day Adventist except one mentioned at the top of the story. God is my closest friend too. True stories I like to tell. Oh, also, they never treated ham as a recommendation rather a law set by God to refrain from eating unclean meat. That is my belief too.
We need some spiritual self-discipline to abstain from ungodly hobbits and behaviors. It is not simple and easy to attain that. We nee to be in Christ to be able to achieve self control.
Also Christ needs to rest in us.
I disagree with the comment that the slogans mentioned at the beginning of the lesson are shortsighted. I suppose this would be right if we knew for sure Jesus would return this year. But we don’t and we didn’t in the past either. I’m glad that people didn’t think it was worthless to end different diseases, or slavery, or segregation, or male-only suffrage.
Again, sort of following up on my comments on yesterday’s lesson, if we see heaven as just a place that we aspire to go to one day, it is very foolish to focus on earthly causes. But if we see heaven as an attitude as much as a place, maybe some of these causes do fit Heaven. If God dislikes war and deforestation and nuclear weapons, why shouldn’t we? I will refrain from judging those who get involved in those causes. They may be doing God’s work more than we realize.
When I read the Gospels, particularly the Sermon on the Mount and the Kingdom parables, I am always reminded about how down-to-earth the Kingdom of Heaven is. The Gospel is not about heavenly real estate, although it is nice to know there is a plan; it is largely about making a difference now. Making a difference now makes the Kingdom relevant.
With Christian principles in mind, we can override the old habits, and carnal desires precipitated by hormones and brain chemistry already mentioned in the 1st post. Send up a prayer when tempted. Matthew 6:33. Matthew 7:7. Stay close to Christ, which is with Christ and in Christ. Think often of what he did for you/me(helps balance the serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine). And then the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace(heavenly mindset). I read Thoughts From the Mount of Blessings after reading Matthew chapter 5,6,7.
So, make God’s kingdom and His righteousness first in your life, and all the other things will be given to you as you need them. Matthew 6:33.
Including a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7. God has not given us a spirit of timidity and fear, but a spirit of boldness, love and self-discipline.
On the first question, “How do we experience being dead to self and worldliness and alive to things above?” I would say to this: Take seriously and learn to “Claim” what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7:1 and also what the Apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 1:4. Paul indicates that it is by God’s Precious Promises that we “Cleanse ourselves and perfect Holiness in this world.” and Peter indicates that via God’s Promises we “Partake of God’s Divine Nature and Escape the world’s corruption and lust.”
John 3.16 For God so loved the world , For so loved Maurice, Ken, Melvin, Christina, That he gave his only son, That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. So it means we have to believe in Jesus Christ who is above .
MATHEW 28:19. An ordinance or command, often by full immersion symbolizing believer’s repentance cleansing from sin and identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Romans 6:3-4, This serves as a public declaration of faith, Making transition into a new life in Christ Jesus .(Buried in Christ and raising in Christ )
More than ever, we need God’s mercy in our lives. Jesus is the only being to give us hope in a world in free fall.
My conclusion in every debate is that no matter what we think we want or need, God knows best. Therefore, we must come to a place of total surrender to the Holy Spirit, otherwise we would achieve nothing. At least not the mortification that Paul talked about.