Romans
8:5-8 Those who live according to the sinful
nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in
accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The
mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and
peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God.
As
Christians we don’t seem to spend enough time cultivating our minds. Many
churches experience low attendance in Bible study classes during the average
week. Some do not have any such classes. What you will find in other churches
are dance classes, bingo, meditation, exercise sessions and other such classes.
We seem to worry more about what to wear to church, how much weight we have
gained or what is the latest novel or movie everyone else is tending to. The
mind’s education about Christ, God and our eternal destiny seem to find a back
seat to other temporal concerns.
“The
mind is a terrible thing to waste” is an anti-drug slogan. It is also an
important theme in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Our mind sorts through all that
we hear, see, speak and do. The mind controls our daily routines. Our mind is
affected by sin and by the Holy Spirit. One leads us into despair, the other
frees us to follow Christ.
How
are you forming your “mind”. What do you read? What type of music plays in your
head? Are your eyes exposed to sexually explicit movies or graphically violent
internet games? Christians who read only the latest novels, watch only the
cable networks, and socialize with only unbelievers are not going to formulate
the mind of Christ. Having your minds filled with only worldly information will
lead you further from the Spirit of God. Your mind become conditioned and
filled with only “fleshly” morals,
beliefs and motivations.
If
you are serious about growing in the Christian life, begin to seek every day to
feed your minds the Word of God. Find Christian friends to socialize among.
Learn to pick and choose the literature and movies that you all to inform or
entertain you. Allow yourself times of quiet to pray and ponder God’s presence
in your life. Engage your mind in the things of God and then experience the
life He intends for you.
