Everyone wants to be healthy.
The greatest fitness fad this week is the P90X. And if you’re not into muscle confusion, Zumba may be your thing.
But what about your mind? What are you doing to get your mind healthy?
If you’re like most people, you may be oblivious to the assaults on your mind as you spend empty hours in front of a television set or paging through mindless magazines.
But as a Christian, you cannot afford to be ignorant on this one. You are, after all, what you think.
No one understood this better than the Apostle Paul. Here was a man who made his living killing people until he met Jesus Christ. Talk about mental baggage. No wonder he never married!
Yet Paul repeatedly tells us to renew our minds, captivate our thoughts, and put on the mind of Christ. What was Paul’s secret to maintaining a healthy mind?
In Colossians 3:-1-17 Paul gives us 6 steps towards a healthy mind.
1. Know who you are. You’re dead, that’s who you are. It says it right there in vs. 3: “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God”. You are dead to sin, alive to righteousness. Your mind is no longer your own. Christ is your life now, that’s why they call you Christian!
2. Some things have to go. Remember the last time you moved? One of the first things you did was go through all your stuff and throw away the old stuff. You can’t move old stuff into a new house. It’s the same way with your mind. You’ve got to do some house cleaning. Get rid of things like immorality, covetousness, anger, malice. You may have to be drastic here. This is not a time to hold back.
3. Some things have to grow. You can’t get rid of everything in your mental house without replacing it with new stuff. There’s nothing like the feeling of new furniture, and new clothes in an empty closet. For the Christian, that new stuff includes things like love, humility and patience. Wow. That sounds hard. Yes, it is, that’s why it happens little by little and in complete dependence on the Spirit.
4. Use the right standard. If you’re comparing yourself to others around you, stop right now. There will always be someone a little better or a little worse than you are. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is having the mind of Christ. He is our calibration system. He is the only standard we’re going by. And that means giving Him full reign to dictate what goes in the house and what stays. Have you asked him to clean your house lately?
5. Claim what is yours. You want to know what’s yours? The peace of God is. Paul says that we were called to that peace. Can you get your mind around that? I find my mind easily cluttered with the stresses of everyday life – a car that needs repairs, a computer that’s not working, relationships that need more investing into. I need peace in my life. And if it’s already mine, I’m gonna grab a hold of it right now.
6. Set the Right Goals. Paul ends the passage with some major perspective. Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of hte Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Did you get that? Have you forgotten what your purpose in life is? Consider yourself reminded. It’s not about making money, it’s not about winning friends, it’s not even about finding your true happiness. Your life as a Christian is about glorifying God. Period.
So…do you need to do a little housekeeping today?
Get your mental workout clothes out and get to work. It’s worth it!
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