By Not Known
As Christians we must think Christianly. Our transformation into Christlike maturity depends on whether our minds are renewed according to the Scriptures. This is why teaching is important. The Bible calls us to love God with ALL our hearts, souls, minds and strength – i.e. in every aspect of our lives. To walk with God therefore requires us to be renewed in our minds by the Scriptures. But to be renewed in our minds requires us to be taught, and that in turns requires us to be willing learners.
Paul calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Ro 12:2a). In Colossians 2:8 he also cautions us not to be taken captive by empty, impressive-sounding philosophies. Proverbs warns us against being seduced by folly. The mind is like a steering wheel of the whole person. We must be aware of what goes into our minds – is the input from God, or the world?
We need to see life as God sees it. That means our minds must be saturated with God’s Truth as found in the Bible. Our philosophy of life, our understanding of reality, our personal values and our world-view must be undergirded and shaped by Biblical truth, not speculations nor personal opinions or worse, anything that comes from the media. Like computers our minds will absorb and use what goes in. “Garbage in, garbage out” as the computer buffs would say.
We need to be vigilant about what we see and read in the media. Gordon Smith in “Essential Spirituality” writes about the dangers of television in particular: “The values portrayed on TV are nonbiblical – commitment to marriage is trivialized, religion is downplayed, illicit relationships are accepted, violence condoned and a variety of commercial products are portrayed as essential for personal dignity, happiness, meaning and success. TV seems to almost legitimize deterioriation in society. In other words TV does not merely entertain. It creates attitudes and priorities and portrays a view of life dominated by consumerism. TV is imagistic. Our analytical, linear thought processes are bypassed. We do not think when we watch TV, we are passive recipients of whatever is shown to us. The influence of TV is not only subtle and direct; it is also pervasive and to a remarkable degree, subconscious. It permeates the mind and radically affects the way we perceive the world.”
Do we want to be constantly entertained with trivial superficiality or edified by God’s Word? If you want to think like Christ to become like Christ, you must mind what you put in your mind. In the coming year let us aspire to cultivate the mind of Christ our Lord.
Graham Ng