“We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,”
2 Corinthians 10:5 (RSV)
Every spiritual battle begins in the mind. How we think affects how we live our life and the choices we make. Taking control of our thoughts can change our life and our eternity. If you think it, you will live it.
One example of how thinking affects things is my mother, who was very gifted in learning foreign languages. She always said if you think in the language, you will speak it. When she married my father, who was from Greece, she wanted to learn to speak Greek, but he was determined to speak only English as a new American. My mother decided to hire a tutor to teach her Greek, and she learned to speak fluent Greek without an accent, which amazed all of our Greek relatives. She always said that her secret to mastering the language fluently, was to think in it. That principle also applies to living the Christian life. We have to think it to live it. It’s probably why we are told to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
If I encounter something that triggers my anger towards someone, or have any thoughts that are against the knowledge of God, I don’t want to cover it up by merely acting like a Christian. Sincerity of thought produces sincerity of action.
When my friend was in a nursing home, I offered to help her husband who was left living alone. I checked on him every weekend, ran errands for him and washed his dishes while I was there. As time went by, I felt that he was taking advantage of my helpfulness, and after a while, it grew into feeling a strong resentment towards him. I felt like a hypocrite in doing good for him while thinking bad of him.
I took all my thoughts of resentment to God, telling Him how I honestly felt. I asked Him to forgive and change me, since change can only happen when I come as I am and confess what I lack. After being honest with God, He intervened in my thoughts and changed my attitude. I was reminded that what we do for others, we are doing for Jesus.
With a fresh new outlook, I was planning to go to the next visit with the state of mind, that I was doing it for Jesus. When I arrived at his home, I was shocked to find him lying lifeless on the floor. After all that, he died of a probable massive heart attack. It was an awful experience, but a sober reminder not to grow weary in doing good. I’m glad I helped him when I did, God surely knew he didn’t have long to live, but He also knew that I needed an attitude adjustment.
Our minds are where all the battles take place, and there is so much to take captive there. Although it’s up to us to take our thoughts captive, only God can transform and change our way of thinking.
He makes us new creatures in Christ, so we don’t have to pretend to be something we aren’t. When God changes our thinking, we can live genuinely with actions born out of sincerity. He helps us to think right so that we can live right.