Take Captive Every Thought

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."  2nd Cor. 10:5 NIV

The above Scripture suggests to me that people may give their heart to Jesus and keep their head under their own control and that is a dangerous way to travel through life.  A dedicated heart and a rebellious mind cannot successfully co-exist.  Our mind must be obedient to Christ!  Our heart must feel comfortable with what our mind decides.  I once knew a person whose business dealings would not bear close scrutiny and it was said of him that, "He did not let his Christianity interfere with his business."  The Scripture maintains that our Christianity should interfere with our business as well as every area of our lives.

Some have said, "I wasn't thinking when I did that!"  I'm not sure that anyone can "stop thinking" as long as we are awake but we can stop thinking right, and live to regret it.  Some may say, "Bringing every thought into obedience to Christ is impossible!"  It is true that we cannot control what thoughts pop into our mind but do have something to say about which ones we shall entertain.  If our heart is dedicated to Christ and our mind dwells on thoughts that are displeasing to Christ; our heart will reveal it to us and our mind then has a decision to make.

The same one who wrote the Scripture above also said, "For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." (1st Cor. 2:2)  Paul maintained that he could decide what thoughts he would receive and what thoughts he would reject.  It is well to remember what the writer of Proverbs said about the matter, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:" (Proverbs 23:7)  We shall become according to the thoughts that we receive and dwell upon.

If we are to be like Christ,we must think like Christ and to do that we decide what thoughts we will welcome and what thoughts we shall cast out.

Just consider what a great blessing we shall receive, what a great blessing we shall be to others and the trouble that we can avoid if we have "the mind of Christ" and therefore act like Christ.

(Pastor Bill Cummins, Sheridan, WY, drbc@bresnan.net)