I’ve often used the title “Siren Song” to describe the calls and appeals of the false teachers that Paul had to deal with. It’s appropriate for us today as well. I’ve assumed everyone knew what Siren Song is. Its origins are rooted in Greek mythology. The Sirens were beautiful women with the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of birds whose bewitching songs lured sailors to their doom. So irresistible were their songs that sailors who heard them would be tempted to navigate the ship close to the shore and risk crashing, or they might jump overboard into the water and drown. In Homer’s Odyssey, the hero Odysseus cleverly stops the ears of his crew with wax to keep them from hearing the Sirens’s song. He tied himself to the mast so he could hear the song yet survive. The Sirens also appear in another Greek epic poem called the Argonautica. In that, the mythical master musician Orpheus helps a crew survive the Sirens’s song by drowning them out with lyre-playing. I use the phrase to refer to any teaching that attempts to beguile us away from the simple message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
The attractions of the siren songs in this life, as well as the shadows of legalistic spirituality, often cause believers to stumble along their way. Therefore, Paul calls us to focus on eternal issues in his second letter to the Corinthians. In verse 2 of Chapter 3, Paul urges us to “set our minds” on things above and not on the things of this earth. He says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” The Greek verb for “setting the mind” implies the intentional direction of all mental energies on a particular object. In this case, it’s Christ in the heavenly realms. I guess we’d call that concentration. “Set your mind” is a very strong action. Fill your ears with wax so you won’t hear the siren songs of the world to draw your heart from Christ. Strap yourself to the mast and hold fast to that which saves you. Setting our minds on Christ will silence the calls of the world around us.
The things around us will grow dim when we do that. An M.I.T. mathematician was walking across the campus. He was so absorbed in thought that when a student greeted him, he failed to respond. But after a few steps, he turned and said, “Pardon me, could you tell me which way I came from?” The student pointed and answered, “That way, sir!” “Thanks,” said the prof. “Now I know I’ve had lunch!” This is a bit extreme, but the point is our minds cannot be set on any object without concentration. One commentator said, “No one will ever learn anything about the subject being considered without it.” Isaac Newton said the key to his understanding was, “I keep it before me.” Fixing our thoughts on Jesus takes time. You can’t appreciate the scenery at 30 thousand feet. You can’t see the beauty of the country as it flies by on the interstate. We must stop and focus. We must sit still and gaze at the beauty. We must sit still and gaze at the Savior and let the landscape seep into our hearts and fill our souls.