My father-in-law was standing next to his camper, which we had dragged five hundred miles into the Smoky Mountains. The brakes had gone out, and we had stopped at a tire shop to borrow some tools to see if we could crack it open and fix it.
As we worked, I mentioned he had a good attitude about it. He responded with something that is characteristic of him. “Well, it could have been much worse. The axle could have broken, or the rim could have come off.”
I stood there analyzing the thought process he was using to stay positive. This “it could have been worse” approach is what I’m going to call the “things below” method. It places your current situation above other earthly outcomes, bringing your mind to focus on the things that are below your current location on the downward scale of deplorable outcomes. You focus on much farther down you could have spiraled. The “things below” approach has some temporary benefit, but the interaction led him and I later to discuss how this “things below” approach compares to another method we’ve been exploring and publishing on for the past few years.
A few years earlier, I was asking him for advice on raising our four kids.
“Did you read any parenting books that helped you when the kids were young?” I asked.
He said, “There are a lot of books that give some practical tips, but really, the only advice you need is this: Walk in the Spirit, and you will do great.”
Because we had talked at length about walking in the Spirit, I knew what he meant. In each situation, if the parent focuses their mind on the eternal/godly perspective, calls on God’s help, and continues to grow in the Word, they will be transformed into the kind of parent God wants them to be.
It’s hard to yell at your kid while internally praying to God, “What do you want me to learn in this situation?” I call this the “things above” approach. It takes the focus off the earthly perspective entirely.
The “things above” approach is different from the “things below” method. It relies on a mechanism that God built into our physio-spiritual design. When we set our mind on the Spirit, on things above, it changes us. It transforms the person we are at a fundamental level. It rearranges the internal composition, an ever-changing equation of control between our spirit, flesh, and mind.
Notice how Paul put it:
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2)
What surprised me to realize is that thinking about how something could be worse than it currently is, is actually setting your mind “on things on the earth.” It’s a mechanical, non-spiritual method for gaining a less frantic perspective.
Setting “your mind on things above” is removing your mind from the earthly perspective entirely. A great example of the “things above” approach is when we count it all joy when we fall into various trials (James 1:2).
So, when the kids are screaming, and the dinner in the oven is burned, and the car needs a mechanic, we could take the “things below” approach and say, “Well at least a meteor didn’t strike the house,” or “At least we don’t live on a leaky house boat,” or “at least Macdonal’s McRib is back.” While this may offer some temporary relief, it doesn’t transform you.
Instead, you need to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:1-2), and that’s what the “things above” approach does.
So when the kids are scraching each others eyes out, and the dog is throwing up in your favorite slipper, and the jeep tire turns into a flabby flat, you can pray, “Lord, show me what you want me to learn in this situation,” or “Thank you Lord, for caring about me enough to grow me through these trials,” or “Lord, help me to see this in light of eternity.”
The “things above” approach changes you. As you transform, life becomes more abundant. To learn more about this concept, check out my book Things Above.
