What's on your mind?

Every day I remind myself – and my children and my friends and my Bible study women – that the Bible emphasizes the need to temper our thoughts because it’s our thoughts that ultimately dictate our lives.  It’s via our thoughts that hurt is nursed, grudges are maintained and criticism is allowed.  It’s in our minds that apologies are squelched, self-righteousness is cultivated and decisions of morality are considered and decided upon. If I was to paraphrase King Solomon’s words about our thoughts in Proverbs 23:7, I’d say it this way: “you are what you think.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson agreed with Solomon when he said “a man is what he thinks about all day long.”  And Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD said it this way: “The most important things in life are the thoughts you choose to think.”

So, what’s going on in your mind right now?  Are you struggling over some issue of pride?  Maybe you’re wallowing in self-pity.  Or perhaps the demon of jealously is stifling your ability to “love your neighbor.”  Whatever it is, the Bible offers a 3-step plan to conquer it (taken from 2 Corinthians 10:5b and Romans 12:2b):

• Capture every thought that is not honoring to God; literally take it hostage…
• Force that thought to comply with biblical principles…
• Maintain a biblical mindset by bathing yourself daily in God’s Word.

If you practice this 3-step process, you’ll get really good at it.  You’ll learn to catch those ungodly, dishonoring thoughts and cause them to acquiesce to God’s standards.  AND, the peace of mind you’ll get will make the original work worth the effort.