Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8)
A mastermind is someone who thinks up extremely complex and crafty plans – usually for evil. It is the exact opposite of what God wants from His children.
He wants our thought life to be The Master’s Mind – a mind set on the things that are above (Colossians 3:2) and fully obedient to Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 makes a surprising connection between our minds being captive and at the same time being obedient to Christ: We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
We like to think that our thoughts are free, and indeed we have considerable choice in what we think or don’t think about. We can let our minds wander into daydreams, develop plans for what we want to do, set goals for what we want to achieve, and determine what we want out of life. Social media have become places where we can brag about our success in achieving what our minds have set out to do.
But our minds are not as free as we think. We are infected with this thing called sin and it controls the way we use our minds. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: We all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind… (Ephesians 2:3)
The implication is that our minds are enslaved to sinful desires. And sinful desires revolve around our desire to aggrandize and exalt ourselves and be like God.
Not so free, then. Rather, our minds are under a yoke of slavery to sin.
When we come to Christ and are born again, the captivity of our minds transfers from sin to Jesus Christ. God announced in Ezekiel 36:27, “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
Walking in God’s statutes and obeying His rules begin in our minds. When the Holy Spirit comes to indwell you, your mind becomes “the Master’s Mind.” God’s desire is that your whole mind is set on loving Him, worshipping Him, thinking about Him, serving Him, and obeying Him.
The entire Old Testament attests to the reality that humans can’t do that in their own strength because the mind is enslaved to sin. For that reason, Godward thinking can only happen through the Holy Spirit changing and renewing our minds through the Word. Basic stuff.
But it sets up the mind as a battleground between sin and holiness. To make matters worse, Satan wants a piece of our thought life as well, so we come under constant seduction to turn away from godly thinking.
What are we to do?
We still have the freedom to choose. So we choose what to think and what not to think. Whenever tempted to think in accordance with sin, like critical thoughts of others, negativity towards ourselves or our lives, pessimistic and self-defeating thoughts about what today will bring us, or escape into unholy or useless fantasies or daydreams, we refocus. That is what taking every thought captive to obey Christ means. We tell ourselves to stop that thought and immediately replace it with something godly like worship, prayer, or a Scripture verse. Someone like me who has ADHD and is alone a lot, has to say stop out loud to get my own attention when my thoughts drift off into an imaginary conversation with someone who isn’t even there or some maladaptive daydream about a different life than the one I’m living. I started doing that when I was little, and they are not easy to conquer!
Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
That’s right, say no to whatever bad thought or fantasy is about to occupy your thoughts and replace it with something praiseworthy, true, and pure.
The more we do that, the more it becomes a mental habit. When we begin our day by purposefully bringing our minds under the mastery of the Holy Spirit, the more we’ll find that He helps us instinctively focus thoughts away from sin and unto God.
The command, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2) becomes a reality. The choice to not put your mind back under slavery to sin but give it up to the Master meets the readiness and ability of the Holy Spirit to renew it and fill it with holy thoughts. Then you find that your mind gets filled with the Master’s Mind – His thoughts, His truths, His wisdom, and His perspectives. Your mind now hungers for truth – and that truth sets you free.
Whereas your mind’s slavery to sin generally leads to lust for more, anxiety about not getting enough, and depression about missing out on something you think you’re supposed to have, the Master’s Mind frees you to know who you are, trust in Him, worship Him, involve Him in all you do, and avoid evil.
The result is healing and refreshment. A mind set on God translates into greater health overall. That is not our main goal, but we may embrace it as a perk.
Resolve today that your mind should be The Master’s Mind. Surrender it every day to Him and labor to keep its Godward focus. It will meet with His pleasure and your freedom.