Straight Thinking 012868 a Clean Mind

Straight Thinking

012868

A CLEAN MIND

Sunday. A clean mind—a perfect man. “As he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Our thoughts are usually reflected in what we say and how we act. It’s especially important, then, to fill our minds with things that are honorable, just, and pure in order to live as we ought. (Read Proverbs 23:7; Matthew 15:11, 17-19; Philippians 4:8.)

Monday. Is there anything harder to do than control our thoughts? What affects them? What about our actions? Consider these questions in connection with seemingly innocent activities like close dancing. Do the partner’s movements encourage thoughts we should avoid? In our youth we must learn to control our minds by being careful what we do. (Read Proverbs 4:14-15.)

Tuesday. The eyes are the windows of the mind. We must be selective, then, in what we see. Lewd films come out of Hollywood by the truckload because many producers evidently believe that the success of these pictures depends on how bold they are. Consider that what fills our eyes fills our mind. (Read Matthew 6:22-23.)

Wednesday. We can be careful what we hear. Dirty jokes are a dime a dozen, and all we have to do to hear one is lend a willing ear. We can’t always help what we hear, but the next time someone ushers us aside for a dirty joke, we can make it clear that we don’t care to listen. If we keep filters in our ears, our minds won’t get dirty. (Read Luke 8:17-18.)

Thursday. We are influenced by what we read. Today’s newsstands are loaded with paperbacks and magazines packed with the foulest smut imaginable. These stacks of corruption attract young people like so much filth draws flies. There is no room here for us if we want to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. (Read Ephesians 5:11-20.)

Friday. Good deeds—good thoughts. The images that cross our minds at night reflect the activities of the day. We can keep those thoughts positive if we keep busy in the work of the Lord and his church. Avoiding evil practices does not in itself cleanse our minds; we have to engage in godly pursuits, because a vacuum is hard to keep clean. (Read Ephesians 5:11-20.)

Saturday. Polluted minds drain out through the mouth, and our mouths can talk us into venturing where only our minds had wandered before; where we go and what we see, hear, and do can in turn pollute our minds. So runs a vicious cycle that spirals downward like a whirlpool. But a mind cleansed by faith produces clean speech as well as a noble life that presents us undefiled before God (Read Jude 23-24.)

Virgil Warren, Straight, January 28, 1968, p13                                                                               christir.org