Captivated

Do you like philosophy? Do you like tradition? Do you like to study science? Do you like to review history? Do you get caught up in any of these so that they dominate your way of thinking? Have you recognized this about yourself? Are you seeking to change it?

There are many topics we can choose to study. Some of them are required for our jobs. Some are required subjects in school. To be familiar with any of them is not a bad thing. In fact, it can be very good for us to be familiar with them. It is when they control us that they become bad for us.

The Apostle Paul warns the church in Colossae not to allow these things to captivate them or overwhelm them. We might even compare it to hypnotizing them. When those things become the focus, we can no longer focus on Jesus. Yet, we need to focus on Jesus so that we follow Him as best we can, and please God in doing so.

Just like the people in the church in Colossae, we can get caught up in the beliefs of this world. We can fall prey to the cunning lure of adhering to worldly principles vice adhering to God’s principles. Our human traditions can trap and strangle us. Those traditions can restrict our growth in faith, if we let them, by becoming our priority.

Paul warns us still today to not allow anything of this world to be made a priority above Jesus. It is very easy to allow that to happen. We can be lured by something that sounds good. Therefore, we need to be watchful, discerning, and seek God’s wisdom to determine our pathway. Only by following the path that God has planned for us will we be truly successful.

I pray we all strive to keep worldly principles from luring us away from Jesus. I pray we remain watchful. I pray each one of us will seek God’s wisdom in discerning the path he has planned for us. Be watchful. Seek God’s wisdom. Be discerning. Strive to follow God’s plan.

Colossians 2:8 Watch out that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental principles of the world, and not according to Christ.