Another aspect of Christian living is our mind. The brain is a marvelously complex organ. It monitors our five senses for dangers and pleasures. It also controls and monitors our other organs. Our mind can somehow envision things we have not experienced. Every new invention begins with a problem and visualization by someone’s mind of possible solutions. The philosopher Descartes is famous for saying, “I think, therefore I am.” It was his proof of existence. One thing is for certain; when you are brain dead, you are indeed dead.
What role does our mind play in living the Christian life? Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God change you into a new person, by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 2:2) In the King Jame Version, it refers to “renewing our mind”. My spirit was renewed instantly when I accept Christ as my Savior, but it took longer for my mind to be transformed. Maybe that was because I was only eleven at the time.
It is marvelous when my mind is focused by the Holy Spirit on Jesus and God’s will, but we have to be very careful because minds tend to wander off sometimes. Every temptation and all resulting sin first enters our mind. We can’t keep them from flying over our head and through our thoughts sometime, but we can keep them from nesting in our mind. Satan is very good at distraction. He will create a storm in our life to try to focus our mind on his lies. There are so many lies in our world today that sound so convincing to our mind, but if we concentrate on God’s word and his will, we can avoid them. Those lies are dangerous, because once you believe them, the truth no longer sounds right. As Mark Twain said, “It is much easier to convince someone of a lie than it is to convince them they have been lied to by someone they trust.” It is the “helmet of salvation” mentioned in Ephesians 6:17 that will protect our minds from lies and temptations.
Age often takes its toll on our minds. I thank God every morning for a sound mind at my age. Don’t ever take that for granted.