So Heavenly Minded, No Earthly Good
Clever and catchy cliché, isn’t it?
Heavenly Minded: Having the thoughts and affections on heaven and heavenly things, devout, holy, godly
I confess I said “She’s so heavenly minded, she’s no earthly good” about this super pious Bible college student who stayed in her apartment, fasted and prayed, and studied the Bible all day. At the same time, she hadn’t paid her rent or college fees because she didn’t work to earn an income. She expected God to provide for her since she was devoting her time and life to Him. Whether she was right or wrong in her thinking, how shameful of me to have judged her.
I stand corrected because it occurred to me that this quote may be more accurate than not. In fact, I wish that it were said of me in this way “She’s so heavenly minded, she’s SO GOOD on earth.” Colossians 3:2 says “Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
When we get ready to go on a vacation, our minds are fixed on where we’re going. We count the days. We plan our wardrobe. We calculate the cost and plan the timing. We fine-tune everything at home for being away a period of time. We ask someone to take in our mail and to watch over things while we’re away, and we look forward, with great anticipation to the great time we’ll have once we get to our vacation site!
Contrary to popular opinion, being heavenly minded really does inspire us to be more earthly good. So, our goal as Christians should be on planning our one-way trip to heaven, and also to love and faithfully serve the Lord on this side of heaven. C.S. Lewis offered these quotes about heaven:
~ “It’s not that we think about heaven too much, we think about it too little!”
~ “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
~ “The fact that our heart yearns for something Earth can’t supply, is proof that Heaven must be our home.”
Maybe that little Bible College student needed to be a little more balanced in her desire to please God, but I can’t say those words anymore “So heavenly minded, no earthly good”. Being heavenly-minded, changes our perspective about everything. The fact is one day our heart will stop beating. That will be the end of our body and our time on earth, but it will not be the end of US. Our earthly body is just a temporary residence for our spirit.
In Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose-Driven Life”, he says this about heaven: “When we fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and we realize that life is just preparation for eternity, we will begin to live differently.. We will start living in the light of eternity and that will color how we handle every relationship, task and circumstance. Suddenly many activities, goals and even problems that seemed so important will appear trivial, petty and unworthy of our attention. The closer we live to God, the smaller everything else appears. When we live in light of eternity, our values change. We use our time and money more wisely. We place a higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun. Our priorities are reordered. Keeping up with trends, fashions and popular values just doesn’t matter as much anymore.”
God has a purpose for our life on this earth, but it doesn’t end here. His plan involves far more than the few decades we will spend on this planet. I’m thinking – I want others to say that about me…..”She’s so heavenly minded – she is earthly AND heavenly good!” How about you?