CONTROL YOUR MIND BEFORE IT CONTROLS YOU

SCRIPTURE:

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have the divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience once your obedience is complete.” (2Corinthians 10:3—6)

OBSERVATION:

            Jesus said that we are in the world but not of the world. In the same vein, the Apostle Paul reiterated what Jesus said.  He said, for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  When I think about war, I think about weapons of mass destruction: the killing, the maiming, the total annihilation of life and communities.  The weapons of war are for collateral damage experienced by all. 

            However, Paul said our battles are not fought with the weapons the world fights its battles with. Ours is against something that rises up against the knowledge of God in us.  The enemy is not seen.  The word knowledge of God is an interesting word.  I am reminded of the story of Adam and Eve when they were told by God not to eat the fruit of the TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL. 

            Adam and Eve were persuaded by Satan to eat the fruit.  Their eyes were open, and they saw that the fruit was desirable for making one wise.  Ever since then, humans’ greatest challenge, which often leads us to sin and disobedience, has not been our actions but our minds that led us to commit the actions. 

            Our minds are a battleground of information that we see, hear, and feel. They are also a data center where information, both good and bad, is stored. Our minds are a spiritual and unseen component of our being, where we reason, think, process, and execute what we lean on.  Paul breaks down the weapons this way:

• Our weapons have the divine power to demolish strongholds. 
• Our weapons have the divine power to demolish arguments.
• Our weapons have the divine power to demolish every pretension that sets itself up against the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.
• Our weapons have the divine power to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 
• Our weapons have the divine power to punish every act of disobedience against God.

Strongholds are mental blocks that prevent us from receiving the truth and prevent us from discerning good and evil.  Arguments are reasonings that I have that clash with the truth of God.  Pretensions are inflated views of oneself, and false claims are assertions of something that are not true.  I know that I have these challenges in my life.  Sometimes, I have mental blocks that I know are wrong, but it becomes a part of my thinking.  I often argued with myself about why certain things are the way they are. 

Sometimes, I have an inflated view of myself. Today, I am reminded that I must actively respond by taking these areas of my life captive and being obedient to the knowledge of Christ. I have a choice between the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil, between the way the world thinks and the knowledge of God. Our mind is always the data center of good and evil. Thus, I must renew my mind daily. 

APPLICATION:

            I choose not to let my mind control my life. I need to control my mind; otherwise, it will control me.  I will continue to renew the way I think of God’s truth and my own.  I want to exalt Christ in my mind daily.  I am determined to have the Holy Spirit lead me and strengthen me to think the mind of Jesus. 

PRAYER:

            Jesus, I pray that you continue to help me renew my mind. Please help me take captive thoughts, arguments, pretensions, and knowledge that are against your knowledge in my life.  I ask you to continue to help me think right and think thoughts that glorify you.  Amen!