Cloudy Today with a Twenty Percent Chance of Thinking

You’re sitting in comfortable chair thinking. Is that such a bad thing?

Most people have abandoned the arduous task of exercising the grey matter between their ears. The current contagion is to put the brain in neutral and relax and be entertained by one of a hundred electronic gadgets that feed your every whim. Let’s face it, the actual mind-melding of the left and right brains have been placed on the endangered species list.  Even experts in neurology have questioned the validity of left vs. right brain hemispherisities. Honestly, when was the last time you turned everything electronic off and sat under a shade tree and put a few million of those neutrons sleeping in your cranium through some calisthenics? Too much trouble, you just want to be pandered to?

Since we are created in God’s image, our thoughts and minds are important reflections of Him.  No other creature on earth has our thinking ability, our reasoning ability, and our loving ability.  We are the only creatures who are called to love God with our entire mind: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”.  Mark 12:30 Paul wrote he was taking “Captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”. 2 Corinthians 10:5 We all need to grow in the knowledge of God and his Word.  Remember what David said about knowing God’s Word?  “My soul is longing for your laws at all times.  Your statues are my delight; they are my counselors”. Psalm 119:20 We need to see things more clearly, otherwise, the “logs” in our eyes distort things. Read Matthew 7:3-5 We also need to make certain that we are communicating our thoughts to others correctly and lovingly.  Paul writes: “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?”  1 Corinthians 2:11

Think for yourselves.  God gave you reasoning powers and decision-making processes. Don’t just follow the maddening crowd to merely blend in.  On a bed of grass, a chameleon’s skin turns green.  On the earth, it becomes brown.  The animal changes to match the environment, mostly to protect itself.  Many creatures blend into the nature with God-given camouflage suits to aid their survival.  It’s natural to fit in and adapt to the environment.  But followers of Christ are new creatures, born from above and changed from within, with values and life styles that confront the world and clash with accepted morals and values.  True believers don’t blend in very well.  The Scriptures says we Christians will be hated for believing in Christ.  Stand your ground.  Hold tight to your beliefs. We must live Christ-centered, blameless, loving lives that make a difference for God.    

The Bible has something to say about the matter and you will be surprised about its opinion. God gave you a mind – wouldn’t it be a shame if you never used it for anything more than deciding what snack to ingest next?

Generals think about winning the next battle. Policemen think about how to catch the law-breaker. Teachers think about how to pry open those skulls full of mush and drop something useful in there. Doctors think about how to maximize their skills and heal the body. Preachers think about how to hone their skills and heal the soul. A businesswoman thinks about trying to boost sales and lower costs. These people focus their thoughts? Shouldn’t we?

It’s awful easy for the things of this world to cloud your thinking. God’s Word reminds us what things are important. Paul the apostle writes on every topic imaginable. Writing Philippians, Paul gives some general advice, followed by some practical advice, followed by some personal advice. In chapter four he counsels; “Rejoice in the Lord always. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Good advice. It’s … something to think about!

HyperSmash Pingates