Talk about wanting to stay in bed or at least in your room for the day with the door locked! It's hard to imagine that every idle thought that passes through our mind is not only heard by God but known immediately as it happens. it's even harder to understand that he continues to let us exist with our thoughts going wherever we allow them to go. Here is a place where lessons can be learned about Christian living. Whatever goes into our hearts and minds becomes a part of our whole life. We cannot go on unaffected by all that the world puts forth for our entertainment, stimulation and distraction. Garbage in, garbage out. God in, God out. See the difference? Whenever I find my mind wandering away from Godly thinking I know that the enemy has entered the journey for some purpose or another. For beginners, if people heard my thoughts I would be mortified! The enemy knows this. People do not. I also have a mind that is deeply entrenched in the Word, Christian music, and wholesome TV shows. Those represent my true self and what God wants to come out of my life. If my thoughts were out loud and everyone was able to hear them would I be okay or not?
Who you are when no one is looking is who you are. We, Christians, forget that God has complete knowledge of our very thoughts, words and deeds. He knows all our words before they pass over our lips. He knows all of this and isn't waiting to knock us down and beat us up. He is waiting for us to call on him to help us make the choice that honors him. That's because we have freewill that God has created in us. It's because God loves us and is that patient waiting Father who seeks our return. Not because we deserve his love when we return but because he wants to love us. Thinking about all of my thoughts is scary. Looking at a woman and thinking other than if she knows Jesus isn't uncommon in a mans world. Even the Christian man. God made woman beautiful, sexy and intelligent. Even if we were blind we would be able to think thoughts unbecoming to her or God. You see, we are bound by original sin as a commonality. We have that entitlement attitude of being able to think, say and do anything we want and have no consequences. But what about the one we have just lusted after or thought evil of? How about the child we are annoyed with or the teenager we'd like to take over our knee and give a firm spanking? Having the heart and mind of Christ puts all of that into another and better perspective.
Just as Solomon asked God for wisdom, we too must do the same. Not worldly wisdom but Godly wisdom. Instead of treating the symptoms of worldly thought we need to internalize the solutions of Godly thought in all areas of our lives. Difficult as that seems it is not an impossible task. It requires desire to do so, abandonment of self, and commitment to following Jesus. Three things that sound so easy but are so difficult. Why? Because we don't want to give up our desires to be replaced by Jesus' desires. We don't love God sufficiently to abandon and commit our total being. It's a "me" problem. I'm the one who desires to have that which I can't. I can rationalize and justify all I want. I'm good at that. Though I can do that, I cannot do God's will if I am engaged in that thinking. For where the heart is the mind and eyes follow. Just because I have the ability to think and reason I'm not given the right to sin. Should I think, say and do that which I know to be wrong, I sin. So do you. Today we need to weigh out what we want the world to see and here in our lives. Are we impacted by the beginning question? Would your thought being audible all day today cause you to examine what you think or even obsess about? Remember that it's always our choice.
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