As a Man Thinks in His Heart….

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Do you know that most people have no idea that they possess the ability to control their thoughts? It is amazing that many people just let their minds wander, and whatever comes to their thoughts, that’s what they allow themselves to meditate on. 

No wonder there is such defeat in the lives of many of those that we come in contact with. No wonder there is so much mental disease going on. But what they think is contrary to this scripture. Why would the Apostle Paul write to the Church at Philippi and tell them take control of their thought life if they had no power to do it? I believe it’s because your mind is the devil’s playground…it’s where he attacks us the most. And if we don’t take charge of the things we allow to linger in our thoughts, then whatever Satan wants to plant in our minds is what we will dwell on and that is also what will eventually overtake our lives.

Look at this…in reading Proverbs 23, the writer is giving a lot of sound advice, and then right there in verse 7 he inserts these words, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” You have the responsibility to decide what goes on in your mind, and you are the one who needs to decide what is allowed to stay there. In 1 Corinthians, Paul is talking about the Christians having the ability to judge all things because they are spiritually minded, and in chapter 2 verse 16 he says, “For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” He is saying that we have the knowledge or the ability to judge all things because we have the mind of Christ. 

Friends, if we have the mind of Christ, and our goal is to be conformed to the image or likeness of Christ, I cannot imagine why we would ever allow our minds to be filled with garbage and clutter and chaos and with whatever Satan wants to fill it up with. We have the mind Christ, we should be thinking as Christ, and that means that we must take charge of our thought life. And let me warn you in advance, it will take discipline!

Just as any new habit that you want to incorporate into your life takes diligence and discipline, so too will training your mind to think like Christ. So let’s see where we should begin. Here are several areas where we MUST begin to take control of our thinking:

• Negative Thoughts – we must learn to catch and take charge of the negative ideas and thoughts that enter our minds and change them immediately. It will take practice! I have even rebuked the demons that would place those things in my mind out loud. He has no authority over your thinking…your mind belongs to Christ! When we sit around entertaining our negative thinking, then our mind is feeding off those thoughts and sooner or later they will become reality in our lives.

• Negative Comments – we must realize that negative comments are only attractive to other negative people…they do NOT build people up and they do not bring glory and honor to our Lord Jesus Christ. Once we learn to take control of our thinking, then those negative comments should be less also. Remember, our job as children of God is to BUILD UP…not tear down. If your words are not meant to edify, encourage and build up, then you need to keep them to yourself!

• Criticism – We need to understand that most people…hear what I said…MOST PEOPLE…are doing the best they know how to do. Some people act and speak out of ignorance, low self-esteem and some out of lack of respect for others. But, whatever the reason, we do not need to stoop to their level. The idea of encouragement is to lift others to a higher level, not to get down to theirs. We need to speak kindness, gentleness and compassion…not criticism.

• Gossip – I have been in churches where a group of Gossips have absolutely quenched and destroyed the possibility of a move of the Holy Spirit and have sent visitors off packing, never to return again. Gossip is destructive and cannot be tolerated in our lives or in those around us. Have you ever noticed that Gossips attract other Gossips? You can see them all huddled together in a group at church. You don’t have to guess what they are talking about…they are gossiping! It’s a horrible thing to be caught up in…and if you are hanging around with other Gossips, then you have to know that they are also talking about you behind your back too. So stop it and disconnect from them. You do NOT want to be like that!

• Prejudice – this is one of the worse downfalls a person can have. It’s a judgmental attitude based solely on a person’s outward appearance or first impression. How sad…and how many wonderful friendships have been forfeited because of prejudice. But prejudice does not just deal with skin color or nationality…it can also be based on looks, financial status, job titles and even religious denominations. How very sad that people separate themselves from others because of superficial things such as this.

And from God’s Word we can learn of many other ways that we must change the way we think about things. When negative thoughts come into your mind, you need to train yourself to STOP…and ask yourself these questions:

•  Is this thought TRUE?
•  Is this thought NOBLE?
•  Is this thought JUST?
•  Is this thought PURE?
•  Is this thought LOVELY?
•  Is this thought of GOOD REPORT?
•  Is this thought VIRTUOUS?
•  Is this thought PRAISEWORTHY?

If your answer to any of these questions is no…then you will probably need to take charge of that thought and change it immediately. With honest self-examination and practice you can change the way you think and that will greatly affect how you live and act. The last thing I want to remind you of are the wise words of the Apostle Paul in writing to the Roman Church, he said, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)

Prayer: Father we know that our actions and our attitudes all come from the things we allow ourselves to dwell on in our private thought life. If we want our lives and our attitudes to change, then we must take charge of our thoughts and discipline ourselves to think Godly thoughts, so that we can live Godly lives. We want most of all to be pleasing to You dear Lord. Please help me today to “bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5) I want my life to be pleasing to You and You alone Lord. Thank You for Your power and Your strength to help me to accomplish this…in Jesus Name I pray…Amen