Romans 7:23 (NLT), “But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.”
As young kids you were always cautioned by your parents to watch who you hung around with and what you did. You were also told to be careful of the things you looked at and listened to as all of these things will influence the person you become. If you’re a parent now, you’ve more than likely had these same types of conversations with your kids. From your own childhood experiences you know how all of these things influence and shape the mind of a child. Everything from the music they listen to, the books they read and the friends they talk to, can positively or negatively affect who they become.
My question is, do you realize as an adult this same principle still applies to you? I would say it’s even more important now, because as an adult you are now moving down, or preparing to move down, the path God has laid out for you. The enemy knows this, and will use whatever he can to distract you from that path. What better way for him to do it, than to fill your mind with things that take you away from godly thinking and move you more towards worldly thinking. If the enemy can fill your mind with thoughts which have you focusing on yourself and not others, he can then move you further away from the person God has called you to be.
I take a look at our current 24-hour news cycle and it’s being played out in front of our eyes. In this tense political season, all you see is a lot of finger pointing and blame passing for all that is wrong. You are told this person or group of people is the cause for your problems. You are told if you can just help get rid of this group then things will be better. You are told to not care about the well being of others, to focus on what’s best for you. On and on, over and over, every single day this is what is being fed into your mind. If you focus on this, then over time you start to lose your love for others. You no longer care about them the way Jesus wants us to care for others. Remember 2 John 1:6 (NLT) says, “Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.” To follow this command you can’t let your mind be overtaken by the negativity out there, you have to guard it.
If you are to become the example of Christ you are called to be, you can’t feed our minds things like this. If you truly have the Fruits of the Spirit within you, this type of negativity will be like poison to you. It will make you sick when you hear it, as it goes against everything you believe. The negativity coming from this political season is just one example of the things out there ready to poison your mind.
You have to be very careful of what you allow to be fed to your mind on a daily basis. Take a look today at what you listen to, what you read, and what you mentally digest every day. Whether you realize it or not it is having an effect on your mood, your energy, your spirit and your heart. My friends, be careful to filter the information you allow into your minds. You have to feed your mind the right things, the positive things, which will help you accomplish those goals God has placed on your hearts.
Proverbs 16:23 (NLT) says, “From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive.”
Truth In Love! ~ Chuck