Can a person be so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good?

from the old testament

• Being heavenly or godly-minded impacts the way we live on this earth. When the Israelites were sent into exile in Babylon, God instructed them to "seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare" (Jeremiah 29:7). God has always desired that His people be a blessing to others as a way of revealing His character to those who don't yet know Him (Deuteronomy 4:6-8; see Matthew 5:13-16).

from the new testament

• God has called us to live in the world but not be of it (John 17:10-15). Rather than withdrawing from the world, a heavenly mindset compels us to engage it with compassion, truth, and grace—becoming the salt and light Jesus called us to be (Matthew 5:13-16).
• Being truly heavenly minded, loving God, and devoting oneself to His service leads to greater earthly good, not less. When we set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2) and live according to God's will, we become agents of His love, justice, and mercy in a broken world that desperately longs for what is good.
• Jesus lived well on this earth while being fully devoted to the Father (John 5:19; John 8:29). He was fully heavenly minded (Colossians 3:1-2) yet served the hurting (Matthew 9:36), fed the hungry (Matthew 14:19-20), healed the sick (Matthew 8:16), and lifted the lowly (Luke 1:52; Matthew 11:28-29).
• In the sense that "heavenly minded" speaks of religiosity or self-righteous piety, it is certainly of no earthly good, nor is it of eternal good. Pharisees of Jesus' day would piously set aside so much of their money as an offering that there remained insufficient funds to care for their aging parents. In Mark 7:6-13 Jesus explained that this practice did not please God (Mark 7:10, 12-13). In being religiously minded, these men neglected the earthly need of their family members.
• Jesus warned against being so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good in the parable of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10:30-37. A priest and a Levite—both religious men—passed by a wounded man without helping, likely concerned with ritual purity or temple responsibilities. But a Samaritan, seen as an outsider, stopped, showed compassion, and cared for the man's needs. Jesus highlighted that it was not religious status but loving action that honored God. His command was clear: "You go, and do likewise" (Luke 10:37).
• James linked heavenly-mindedness and the importance of being of earthly good in his letter to the church. He wrote, "If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:15-17). True faith is exemplified in caring for people's physical needs in this world, not just giving spiritual answers.
• Our faith impacts our actions so that we are both heavenly-minded and of earthly good. James also wrote that, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (James 1:27). Meeting the physical needs of those who are suffering is part of what Christians are called to do.
• John wrote similarly to believers, "But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:17-18). Loving God would result in helping others by our actions using the "world's goods" (material possessions).

implications for today

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. is credited with saying, "Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good." He was observing that some Christians were so distracted by their religion, focusing their attention on finer points of theology, awaiting the next life, that they no longer engaged in this life or in bringing good to this world. Johnny Cash popularized the saying in his song "No Earthly Good" (Album: The Rambler 1977) where he criticized religious people for not sharing the blessing and good news they had found. These men were pointing out a temptation of religious folk that has been present since biblical times.

It can be tempting to withdraw from society to devote our lives to singing praises, praying, and studying God's Word—to give all our time, attention, and money to purely religious or spiritual endeavors. But being "heavenly minded" implies active and godly engagement in the world, which is of much "earthly good." Believers are to be "heavenly minded" in the sense that our entire lives are to be shaped by God. We’re to seek the “things that are above” and treat others with compassion, forgiving as Christ forgave us (Colossians 3:1, 12-14). When believers understand who God is, recognize the reality that humans are made in His image, and grasp the weight of the gospel, they will be invested in the lives of those around them (John 13:34-35). Jesus' high priestly prayer is instructive. In part, He prayed for His followers, "I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. … As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (John 17:15-18). Believers are sent into the world as beacons of God's truth and love (Matthew 5:13-16).