Every human being struggles with opposing ideas, emotions and thoughts. We can entertain concepts that are of noble or benign nature or we can indulge our minds in sensual temptations, nefarious schemes or slanderous thoughts about others. We may feel that our thoughts belong to us and are ours to pander. This is the enemy’s ploy to subjugate our thinking.
Satan is unrelenting in his infiltration of our minds and when we choose to draw near to God, he increases the intensity of his assaults. As long as we are passive and accept worldly values as our core belief systems, our adversary is content to let us walk the wide road along with all others who are equally deceived.
He is the father of lies (John 8:44) and he knows that once falsehoods have taken root in our minds and are accepted as truth, they are very difficult to unlearn. Worldviews such as materialism, secularism, relativism, Darwinism and atheism are examples of mindsets that stand in opposition to God’s truth. The apostle Paul advises in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Paul asserts, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought and to make it obedient to Christ.”
Each day we are inundated with temptations, from sensual stimuli to self indulgence that serve to undermine our self control. James 1:14-15 teaches us that sin begins in the mind. “Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.”
Society tells us to follow our heart and it will lead us to happiness. On the contrary, the Bible advises that our hearts are not trustworthy. Jeremiah 17:9 reveals, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” And Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” (Matthew 15:19-20).
THE HUMAN CONDITION IS A BROKEN CONDITION
The human condition is a broken condition, and in our brokenness, we harbor all kinds of lies. In fact, we lie to ourselves all the time. We convince ourselves that its ok to hate someone or gossip about our friends, or to lie on our income tax forms, or call in sick when we’re not. When we believe our little white lies are not sin, we succumb to sin. 1 John 1:8 reads, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that our very thoughts condemn us. “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5: 27-28). Therefore, it is our thoughts that must be arrested and refocused upon righteousness.
Jesus said the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37). This means anything less than 100% wholly and completely directing our minds to focus on loving God, misses the mark. We are called to be fully committed. We are called to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16).
One must surrender every room in the house to God. This includes every activity, every moment that one is alone, and every thought that enters our mind. It means getting off the fence, rolling up our sleeves and pledging allegiance to Christ alone. Jesus taught that we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24), and that whoever does not gather with Him, scatters (Matthew 12:30).
REPENTANCE IS DEFINED AS A CHANGE OF MIND
Repentance is defined as a change of mind. But that’s only the beginning. It goes beyond remorse over sin to a complete redirection of one’s core beliefs. Unless it drives action, it cannot be sincere. 1 John 3:6 tells us, “No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.” If our repentance never leaves the confines of our minds, it is impotent and counterfeit.
The authenticity of our faith is demonstrated in the sincerity of our actions. Faith without deeds is dead. James 2:17-18 proclaims, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”
The Bible tells us to guard our hearts and minds, and the way to accomplish this is through abiding in Christ (Philippians 4:7). And Proverbs 4:23 teaches, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” What we feed our minds has a profound impact on the health of our minds. If we spend hours each day watching television shows filled with violence and fornication, our minds will dwell on violence and fornication. And our actions will reflect what is on our minds.
This may not be acted out in mimicking exactly what was watched, however, it could be expressed through purchasing pornography or inadvertently bullying a coworker. Child trafficking wouldn’t be a $236 billion per year business if there wasn’t demand generated from sinful minds. You can judge a tree by the fruit it produces (Matthew 7:16-18). And Jesus warns that “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 7:19).
Those who persist in sinful behavior will become desensitized to their sin and their consciences will become seared as they no longer feel guilt over their actions. This is much like cauterizing a wound, where the nerve endings become desensitized and the patient no longer feels pain at the site. Habitual liars are exemplified in 1 Timothy 4:2 as being hypocritical or artificial.
THE EYE IS THE LAMP OF THE BODY
Jesus taught that “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23).
In junior high science class, they teach you the theory of positive displacement. If you fill a beaker with water and begin dropping marbles into the water, water will be forced over the lip of the beaker and it will overflow. Keep adding marbles and eventually most of the water will be displaced by marbles.
The same is true for what we permit to occupy our minds. If we are exposed to sensual images and don’t want retain them in our mind, they can be displaced by reading the Bible, which redirects our imagination to contemplate the meaning of the scriptures we just read. Continue to focus on reading the Bible and greater wholesomeness and holiness is the result. Good habits displace bad habits. It’s as simple as that.
Paul tells us to think righteously in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters, 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. This is what the scripture is referring to when it says, “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.” (Hebrews 8:10, Hebrews 10:16, 2 Corinthians 3:3, Jeremiah 31:33).
We are called to surrender the throne of our heart to God. In humility we willingly accept the lordship of Christ over our lives. Job 11:13-17 reassures us that our consciences will be clear. “Yet if you devote your heart to Him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning.”
When we are completely Christ-like in our mindset, we are free to serve God in love, which comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith. We will then be compelled to love each other as Christ loved us. It all begins by arresting tempting thoughts in our minds before they take root, replacing them with thoughts that are pure in nature and submitting to the Spirit and His will (Galatians 5:16-17). It all begins in the battleground of our mind.
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