What should I do if healthy affections are being replaced by unhealthy ones?

Psalm 26:2Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart.

We can ask the Lord test our affections and reveal anything that has become more important than him. But if we ask, we must be ready and open to him exposing our misplaced affections, and be willing to change.

Revelation 2:4-5“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.”

Revelation 3:19“I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.”

Indifference is a deadly spiritual disease whose creeping effects can be hard to notice. Even when we least feel like seeking God—especially when we least feel like it—we should make it a practice to turn toward him rather than away.

Deuteronomy 8:2“Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.”

Psalm 106:12-13Then his people believed his promises. Then they sang his praise. Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!

Philippians 1:6I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Hebrews 10:23Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

When we remember God’s faithfulness in the past, it inspires us to trust him with our lives today.

Galatians 2:20My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Ephesians 5:1Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.

2 Peter 1:5-7Supplement your faith with . . . brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

1 John 2:6Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

Learning to love God includes learning to love what he loves. Sometimes, this relearning process is refreshing. Other times, it is difficult. But if we persevere, we will grow deeper and deeper in our love and understanding of our Savior. As we do this, we will naturally begin to see people as God does and grow to love them with genuine affection.

Proverbs 27:17As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Romans 12:4-5Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

1 Corinthians 11:1You should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

Hebrews 10:24-25Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

God did not design us to walk the Christian walk alone. Godly mentors, friends, and church family can encourage us in pursuing Christ wholeheartedly.

Proverbs 4:23Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Matthew 6:24“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

Matthew 16:25“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”

Galatians 1:10Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

1 Timothy 6:9People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

James 4:4You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

Whatever we regard with high affection will determine the direction of our lives. Improper desires often have a disastrous impact on us, our family, and our relationship with God. Even good things can be a distraction from greater things. Our highest affection should always be our relationship with Jesus.