Affection

Affection in Scripture denotes the range of human emotions and inclinations, evaluated morally according to their object and orientation. Paul's reference to vile affections in Romans 1:26 — affections that are degrading or against nature — appears in his diagnosis of the consequences of suppressing the knowledge of God: disordered desire follows upon disordered worship. Colossians 3:5 lists inordinate affection among the works of the earthly nature that are to be mortified, while the same letter instructs believers to set their affections on things above rather than on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2).

Ezekiel 33:32 uses the related idea when describing the people's treatment of the prophet's words as a pleasant song — they are moved emotionally but not morally. Together these passages reflect the biblical view that affection is not inherently problematic but becomes disordered when directed toward wrong objects or when it substitutes emotional response for moral obedience. Rightly ordered affection — love of God, love of neighbor, love of what is good — is itself a mark of genuine spiritual transformation.