For most of us, the concept of mind control is a little scary. Rightfully so, we don’t like the idea of giving up control of our life to someone else.
But our minds are constantly subject to influence by outside forces every day. It is very important to protect our minds and avoid anything that might harm us. That’s quite a challenge in our world today because most of us spend a tremendous amount of time thinking about massive amounts of information.
Add up the time spent on all communications during the course of any day, and it is sizable.
The Bible says that “as a man thinks in his heart so is he”. What you think about will determine your behavior. What you place in your mind could be compared to food.
We all know how important our diet is, the quantity and the quality determine the health of the body. We would never poison ourselves. We are usually careful not to swallow anything that is not fresh, but our choices about food are a constant responsibility that requires wisdom.
Let’s consider for a moment that we are also responsible for feeding our souls. Jesus said that He was the Bread of Life and that unless we eat His body, we will suffer loss.
Some were revolted by this statement and left Jesus on the spot thinking He had certainly gone too far this time. So, what did Jesus really mean? Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh. He is the Word of God incarnate which is intended to feed our souls. Matthew 4:4 puts it this way, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” In the Lord’s prayer, we are told to ask God to give us this day our daily bread. Looking back to the Old Testament, we see manna from heaven feeding Israel as they traveled through the desert. That miraculous experience was a preview to what God desires for us as we travel through the desert of this world. We are told that twice Christ multiplied loaves to feed all those who were following Him. The miracles were given to affirm the divinity of Christ. Of course, many kept following Him for the physical bread alone and missed the whole point.
What you think about and what you eat are your choices every day. So, what are you placing in your mind? If you are not considering spiritual food, please do so now. Even the world understands the concept of CBT – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Replace those bad thoughts with good thoughts and you will feel better. The computer expression GIGO is true – Garbage In, Garbage Out.
The end result is determined by the choices made in the beginning. We are told in Romans 8 that the mind controlled by the flesh is death while the mind controlled by the Spirit is life. Our minds are like our bodies in that we choose the diet and like it or not, there are consequences for our choices. Read Galatians 5 and see what kind of fruit is produced by deciding that we know more than God (walking in the flesh). Then look at the fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. The last fruit listed is self control. It is not going too far to say that self control equals mind control.
God wants us to voluntarily choose to feed our minds with His Truth with daily Bread by spending time in His Word. We must choose to do it however; it will not simply happen automatically.
Humility says that we need God to control our minds, pride resists the Word of God.
Consider Bible memorization, it is an excellent way to stay on track with God in charge! Just a few words every day can produce 30, 60 or 100 fold!
Joshua 1:8
Resource: Telling Yourself the Truth: Find Your Way Out Of Depression, Anxiety, Fear, Anger, And Other Common Problems By Applying The Principles Of Misbelief Therapy by William Backus and Marie Chapian
