Many beliefs and ideas from the world teach us things that might be contrary to our conscience, and yet we still listen to these ideas and allow them to form a part of what we believe as truth. We can either grow with the culture or we can grow with God in His spiritual kingdom here on earth. This article will explore, in a nutshell, three major enemies within our mind. The complete free e-book on this can be found on my website. 1. Beliefs Simply, what are your beliefs? What do you believe is truth for your life? Some of us believe in our past too much instead of living for the "here and now". Past issues can literally haunt us every single day. It is hard to give up thoughts and beliefs that have fed our mind, but it is useless clutter that we need to destroy. We do that by trusting in the real source for our lives? Where is the faith? The best way to discern what is truth is to look for the fruits. What fruits have come out of a certain belief will let you know if it is fact or fiction. Beliefs, if not from the source of who you are, tend to give you false impressions of what truth really is. Meaning, you believe things that seem good and right but are actually wrong for you and your family. What you think and perceive in the mind will ultimately come out in your actions. For instance, if I believe that it is okay to look at pornography, since I have justified in my mind it is not the actual act of adultery, then I will look at pornography. My mind has told me that there is nothing wrong with it. But this does not make it right for my marriage, or me, does it? Look for the fruits! 2. Attitudes and thoughts Attitudes and thoughts are the offshoots of what we believe because they form what we accept as true and what we have faith in. It is so very important in life that we have strong, healthy spiritually growing minds so all the wickedness and lies going on in the world will not fill us up and form our beliefs. Many of us are rebellious to the truth because we want to live life the way WE WANT. What people don't realize is, there is way more to life then what they are now perceiving, and that they can be happier, freer and more content filled people if they accepted God's truth for their answers! Did you know that sin develops from having a bad attitude? "What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these things come from the inside and make a man unclean." Mark 7:20-23 Jesus was pointing out that sin actually begins in the attitudes and intentions from within a person. An evil action begins with a thought, because our minds dwell on that thought, whether it is lust, envy, hatred or revenge. In the same way Jesus tells us that we are not pure because of our outward acts of kindness, but we become pure on the inside as Christ renews our minds and transforms us into His image. "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:15-17 3. Pride Sin This is a biggy! Pride is a major conflict in most of our lives, we all have it and we all use it on occasion, some of us more than others. Pride keeps us from trusting, accepting, recognizing, loving, and living fully! Pride keeps us from trusting in Gods wisdom for our lives. Pride is what makes us selfish and rebellious. So you can see how pride would hold us back from coming to our full potential, right? Some of us have become very rich with money in our life, and we should be careful not to let pride get in our way of listening to God's wisdom for us because of those riches. Materialism keeps people from opening their mind to God's wisdom; they may never come into their full potential as spiritual believers. God wants all of His children to prosper and be industrious and ambitious, but those things should never come first in a person's life. We want acceptance from others, and yet many of us have a hard time accepting differences in others! We want to be trusted, but we cannot trust even the source of who we are, what kind of nonsense is that? Half of the people reading this e-book have already been through a divorce. They never fully loved the first love of their life. Could it be that pride got in the way of giving away their love unselfishly and unconditionally? He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight." Luke 16:15 Can you see how pride would stand in the way of our spiritual wellness? Coming into and living our full potential is understanding, recognizing, and applying all the aspects of who we are. This brings us into all that we can be for ourselves and those we love. The religious leaders knew what the Bible said but failed to apply its words to their lives. They knew the teachings of the scriptures but failed to see the Messiah to whom the Scriptures pointed. They knew the rules but missed the Savior. Entrenched within their own religious system, they refused to let the Son of God change their lives! Bottom line: Don't become so involved in "religion" that you miss out on Christ! Whose praise do you seek? The religious leaders enjoyed great stature in Israel, but their stamp of approval meant nothing to Jesus. He was concerned about God's approval. This is a good principle for us. Even if the highest officials in the world approve of our actions and God does not, we should be concerned. But if God approves, even though others don't, we should be content. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." Mark 9:35 |
