"The Soul debases her self, when she sets her affections on any thing but her creator"

This quote by Mary Astell talks to the significance of keeping our focus on God and not on worldly things. She is saying that when we set our love on anything besides our Creator, we are essentially debasing ourselves. This is because we are not offering God the attention and love that He is worthy of. We are rather concentrating on things that are short lived and short-term, rather than on the everlasting and everlasting. Astell is reminding us that our souls are implied to be devoted to God which when we turn away from Him, we are not living up to our full capacity. We are not living in the way that God planned us to. We are rather allowing ourselves to be distracted by the things of this world, which can lead to spiritual and psychological vacuum. Astell is encouraging us to keep our focus on God and to keep in mind that He is the only one who can really please our souls.