Painted
pleasures,
sugared poisons,
envenomed baits
(John Owen)
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,
set your hearts on things above, where Christ
is seated at the right hand of God. Set your
minds on things above, not on earthly things."
Colossians 3:1-2
Fix your affections upon the
things that are above,
and this will enable you to
mortify sin. Heavenly
things
are blessed and suitable
objects—God Himself,
in His
beauty and glory; the Lord Jesus Christ,
who is
'altogether lovely,' the 'chief of ten thousand'; grace
and glory; and the
blessed promises of the gospel.
Were our affections filled, taken up, and possessed
with these things,
as it is our duty that they should be
—and it is our happiness when they
are—what access
could sin, with its painted
pleasures, with its sugared
poisons, with its envenomed baits, have into our souls?
How should we loathe all sin's
proposals, and say unto
them, "Away with you, you abominable thing!"
For what
are the vain, transitory pleasures of sin—in comparison
to
the heavenly glories which are proposed unto us?