To Think Is Not Optional

One of my favorite activities in the world is what I call “no brain activity.”  A lot of times I will come home from work and all I want to do is sit down and think about nothing.  Most of the time this happens with a remote control in my hand, my feet propped up on the coffee table and the mighty TV on a sporting event.  You see I like to come home and just veg.  Everyday is not rough but sometimes those days just happen.  Maybe it is not a bad day but just busy.  We all have them.  But as much as I like to sit and not think about anything I still do.  I think about how stupid of a play that was they just ran.  I think about how bad a call the referee just made.  Sometimes it is not about the TV at all but about what needs to be done around the house or whatever.

Our brain never stops. We are constantly thinking whether we want to or not.  Oh there have been many times I have heard my parents say (often in a sarcastic manner), “What were you thinking?” or “Did you even think before you did that?”  In Romans 8 it sheds light on our thought processes when it comes to our options.  Just like there is no option on thinking there is only two options on how this is handled.

Romans 8:5-6 – Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.  So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death.  But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

My thoughts can only go in one of two directions.  My choices in life and the way I live my life comes back to the way I think about things.  My thoughts drive me.  It all begins in my head.  My thoughts lead to actions.  So the questions is what am I thinking about?  That scares me.  Too often my mind resembles a battle ground.  The more I think about sinful things the more sinful I am. When I dwell on things of God then my actions reflect that thought journey.  So what do you think about?  Better yet, what do you feed your thoughts?  If you struggle with choices, if you battle with constantly doing things that don’t please God, or maybe you just are purposeless then your thoughts are defining you.  What you think about you become.

Thinking is not an option.  What you think about is.  So what are you thinking about now.  This is why in 2 Corinthians 10:5 Paul challenges us to take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.  Our struggle with sin begins in the mind.  How we think and what we think about sets the stage for our life actions.  So what are your thoughts?

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