I came across another quote recently from that wise old philosopher Unknown; “As surely as the acorn becomes the oak tree, the images in your mind become your reality.” I have written before about perception. What our mind perceives about a person or situation becomes reality to us, even though it may be a false impression. It is a form of mind over matter. Every temptation or sin begins as a thought. The enemy is constantly using our senses to plant thoughts in our minds that pull us in the wrong direction. Sometimes his messages are hidden from our conscious mind and enter through the back door of our subconscious; like the subliminal advertising in movie theaters and the messages buried in some hard rock music of the 50,s and 60’s.
As a young boy, I thought mind over matter meant “if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter”; or maybe telekinesis (the ability to move objects with your mind). A couple of years after I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, I began to read a popular book of the time titled, “The Power of Positive Thinking”. I don’t think I ever finished that book. It is written by a clergyman so I thought it would be a good book to read as a young Christian. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the idea of replacing negative thoughts with positive ones; but I realized as a newborn Christian that a key component was missing. The power to live a life of positive thinking comes from God. The Holy Spirit also taught me that I should be mindful of everything and when something seems to move on its own (like on a Ouija board), the power moving it is not a human mind; it is the enemy trying to confuse us and open us to his demons.
Here is what scripture says. “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8) “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” (Ephesians 4:23) “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform 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 12:2) The power to refocus our thinking comes from the Holy Spirit and not simply from our own mental exercises.
When I became a Christian, my spirit was reborn and my heart was filled with God’s Spirit and His love. The renewing of my mind has been a continual process that is still going on. Yes, my attitude has amazingly improved over the years as I draw closer to God, but I must still pass my thoughts through the Holy Spirit for purification and positivity. The more we rely on the Holy Spirit the less we need to worry about sinful thoughts or actions. James writes about the importance of controlling our tongues. (James 3:1-12) The best way to do that is to get control of our thoughts first and then speak positive, loving thoughts as prompted by the Holy Spirit.
Yes, there is such a thing as mind over matter, but it is the Mind of the One who spoke the Universe into existence and not your mind or mine.