What are you putting into your mind?

The human mind is an amazing thing!

I’ve spent the bulk of my adult life studying what people do with the mind God has given them. The thoughts that pass through them span the breadth of humanity, and for some, can be surprising, like this story told by Jeff Strite …

One night a wife found her husband standing over their infant’s crib. As she watched him looking down at their very first baby, she saw on his face a mixture of emotions: disbelief, doubt, delight, amazement, enchantment, skepticism.

Touched by this unusual display and the deep emotions it aroused, with eyes glistening she slipped her arm around her husband.

“A penny for your thoughts,” she said.

“It’s amazing!” he replied. “I just can’t see how anybody can make a crib like that for only $46.50.”

What we often don’t take time to understand about the human mind is that nothing can go into it that we don’t place there ourselves, or that we don’t expose our minds to (environments, experiences, conversations, media, etc.). And in making our choices for what we put into our minds, we’ve corrupted our thinking and, in the process, have ruined our lives. The Bible provides us with some guidance as to how the damage we’ve done can be fixed. When it comes to our minds, we’ve caused so much harm that only God can repair the mess we’ve made …

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect,” Romans 12:2.

Once we surrender our minds to God’s transforming work, we have to keep our minds focused on Him …

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3.

Finally, we have to use this change in thinking brought about by God’s transforming work in our minds to redirect our thinking in new, better, more purposeful directions …

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise,” Philippians 4:8.

Let’s take a second look at the kind of things we should be fixing our thoughts on, those things which are:

True.

Honorable.

Right.

Pure.

Lovely.

Admirable.

Excellent.

Worthy of praise.

Are these the kind of things you’re putting into your mind and keeping your thoughts fixed on?

What are you putting into your mind?

Scotty