MIND YOUR MIND

There hath no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able;
but will with the temptation also
make a way to escape, that ye
may be able to bear it.
I Corinthians 10:13

My Scotch grandmother made good use of the word “mind.” Maybe it was a word she was more familiar with in her home in Scotland when she was a child. It wasn't unusual for her to say to me, “Mind your manners.” Often she would say, “Mind your Mother.” Growing up I also heard people say to others, “Mind your own business.” For me, minding had to do with obedience or seeing to some kind of self control. Of course, you and I also know that the mind refers to our thinking process.

I'm convinced in our times that we should be minding our minds...taking control over our own thinking especially with regard to all the negatives in life we are often called upon to deal with. Whether we are aware of it or not, we aren't left helpless when it comes to choosing what we entertain in our minds. As Christians, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who is available to guide and teach us. He also has the ability to steer our thinking, but I'm convinced we must want Him to do that.

There is something in us that wants to know everything about everything that is going on be it regarding our associations, family business or even political happenings. We live in an age of available information and have become almost addicted to getting every bit of news we can cram into our brains. It keeps getting worse...people's lives are exposed in full, feuds of all sorts, political war, terrorism, murders, missing children, school shootings, etc. If we want info on anything, it's right at our fingertips with rare filtering.

The sad thing is we have control over the on-off switch on our TV's or on the screens of our computers. We would like to think we are at the mercy of these things and just can't help ourselves. It's as if we have been made prisoners with no where to turn. This may be true of a non-believing person. People who aren't born again Christians don't realize a lot of the damage they do to themselves or others. They don't have the Holy Spirit to guide their thinking and actions. However, we believers have no excuse.

God never gives us a command in His Word we cannot obey. God isn't a tease, dangling a carrot in front of us, daring us to do the right thing. He is our biggest cheerleader urging us onward and upward to doing the good and right things. He's provided His Spirit to empower us to be victorious over Satan's wooing in our lives.

Safety equipment is used in our day to protect people....car seat belts, hard hats on a construction worker, bullet-proof vests for policemen and military personnel, protection items for our firemen, car seats for young children and helmets for athletes. Football players of all ages cannot step out on a football field without their protective helmets on. All of those things protect bodies, so why don't we take steps to protect our minds, be it screens we view or even people we associate with who aren't good for us. We are to think on good things. We may have lots of information from all over the world, but our knowing it all won't change anything.

Another command that is the key. Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus...” The next few verses lists those qualities found in Jesus. We are told to be like Jesus. He had to walk in this world. He saw all of the negatives around Him yet could rise above all. You and I are called to rise above the fray...to be like Jesus...to get our thinking in control all through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Dear Father, we hate seeing our culture spiraling downward. We have concerns as to the kind of world our children and grandchildren are going to have to live in with it's sins and dangers. We pray for a moving of Your Spirit in the hearts of folks in our country despite who are what they are. You are the answer. Keep our minds and hearts pure as only You can. Keep us in Your Word and away from those evil things that would keep us concerned and nervous. We love You and are grateful for Your power in our lives. In Jesus name....Amen