Start Thinking Right

Introduction

Sydney Harris was a longtime columnist known for commenting on world events in humorous or satirical ways. One day, Harris accompanied a friend to a newsstand. The friend greeted the newsman courteously but received gruff and discourteous service in return. Accepting the newspaper which was shoved rudely in his direction, the friend politely smiled and wished the newsman a nice weekend. As the two walked down the street, the columnist asked: “Does he always treat you so rudely?” “Yes, unfortunately he does.” “And are you always so polite and friendly to him?” “Yes, I am.” “Why are you so nice to him when he is so unfriendly to you?” “Because I don’t want him to decide how I’m going to act.”

Can we really determine our reactions and actions by the way we think? Yes, we can. That is the point of tonight’s lesson and has been the point through this whole series. How we think affects how we live. Right thinking leads to right actions. The hardest part of all of this is that we are imperfect people and we will not always think in right ways. This is the struggle for all, but as Christians we know the struggle is worth the effort.

A Brief Look at Faith

Do you remember as a child saying something like “he made me mad”? Something happened to us. Maybe a sibling took away a toy; maybe a friend said something inappropriate. Our reaction was anger and we blamed the person or incident for our anger. But is that really true? Did the incident or person make us mad or did we choose to be angry? Now before you think I am trying to ignore emotions or think that I am saying emotions are bad, let me explain. The truth is we chose to be angry about that event or person because our thinking about that event was faulty. Let me explain using an everyday event and through the Bible.

I pass out candy on Wednesday nights. I like doing that. It started out as a way for me to hug on the children and it has moved to anyone having candy. Anyone can walk up and get a piece of candy. I try to walk around and offer but I don’t always make it. So you are welcome to a piece of candy. I leave the candy on the credenza in my office. Sometimes I will have a person come to my office asking for help to buy groceries or bus money or any number of things. And sometimes they will look at the candy and ask for some. It chafes me. Why? You ask me for candy on Wednesday night and I am glad to do it. Someone else asks me and I get a little protective. Why? Faulty thinking. It is really the same situation just different people. I can choose to be generous or I can choose to be protective. But the emotions I have come from faulty thinking.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We live by faith, not by sight.” Faith is what we believe and think. Faith isn’t some intangible. Faith is real. Faith is what happens in us and finds its expression in action. Sight is what we see and hear. It is what happens to us and we react accordingly. Ultimately reality for us is what we believe not what we see. Really, you might ask? Well let’s look at the Bible.

Lamentations 3:19-24 shows us that the events are real. The events are resulting in sadness and bitterness, but the author then turns his eyes on God and there is hope. He chooses to focus on God’s faithfulness rather than the events. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, every thought is taken captive in order to bring it to obedience. We have control over what we think. Philippians 4:8 tells us to think on these things. We have a choice. We can choose to think on good things or evil things. We can choose to focus on truth or lies. It is our choice.

Because we are imperfect then just making the decision will not be enough. We need divine help. We have to die to self and allow the Spirit of God to lead us. Galatians 5:16-18 says that our sinful nature (our desire to think wrongly) and the Spirit of God who lives in us (what we know by faith) are constantly at war with each other. In other words, the battleground is our mind. Paul says it another way in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” It is about the mind. How do we renew our minds? How do we change our thoughts for good?

Changing Thoughts

We begin the process of renewing our minds through repentance. Wrong thinking is a sin problem. Don’t worry. You aren’t alone. We all have this problem. But it is sin nonetheless. We confess to God that we are believing lies about him, ourselves, and life, and repent. Repent means that we change our minds and hearts.

Second, we feed our minds from God’s word. The Bible is much more than a collection of stories and thoughts about people. Contained within the pages of scripture is the power to change lives, thoughts, beliefs, and actions. The same breath that gave life to humans is the same breath that gives life to scripture. It is through the scriptures that God is able to touch our hearts and to help us to know his will. The Hebrew writer tells us that the word of God is living and active, that it penetrates and judges attitudes and thoughts. God’s word is powerful. We must meditate on the word. This means allowing the words of scripture to replace our sin thinking. Maybe that means you carry around with you written on a card truths from the Bible or maybe you commit passages to memory. When our sin thinking takes over, we choose to replace it with God’s word.

Third, we renew our minds through crisis. We have no control over this element, but it is vital for our growth. I am not naive. This sermon may cause you to think. It may cause some of you to make adjustments in the way you think. But the truth is that until a crisis comes real change will not come. Generally, people do not change until the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain to change. It isn’t until like Jacob and we wrestle with the angel of God all night do we find the courage to change. Hardship is the way that God disciplines us.

Paul wrote Philippians 4 from a prison cell. Telling Christians to not be anxious, to find joy, to express desires in prayer, to think on good things—all written from a prison cell. What allows him to write such things? Because he didn’t allow what he could see to inhibit his faith. He trusted in God whose faithfulness went beyond the confines of a prison. He found joy and contentment when most would have thought that God had forsaken them. Listen again to Paul’s words in Philippians 4:8. We really can choose how we are going to think. This is not just sheer positive thinking. This is thinking in ways that emphasize our faith and when we focus on the eternal the temporary fades.

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