Guiding our thoughts is a popular phrase that we often hear. But you may be wondering, why do we need to guide them? This is a great question and fortunately for us, the Bible answers it.
Guiding our thoughts will keep us from sin
Mark 7:20-23 says, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” As the words of Christ reveal, it is not food that makes you unclean, but rather your thoughts that are within. He says, “Out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts.” Jesus then goes on to list various sins ranging from lying to sensuality. Now, Jesus is not speaking about man’s literal heart, but rather the things we dwell on, the things we think about. As we think about these things it causes us to sin. Sin is not merely an external action, it is the outworking of what we think and believe. Jesus said that if a man thinks about a woman in the wrong way he has committed adultery. This means that we are judged not only on our actions but on our thoughts as well. This is why we must continually guide our thoughts away from sinful things. What starts as a sinful thought ends as a sinful action. Jesus commands us rather to dwell on things above.
Scripture commands us to guide our thoughts
Two passages in particular support this point. 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.” Colossians 3:1-3: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” This command, given to believers, is very straightforward. We must set our minds on things that are honorable and set our minds on Christ. The second verse says not to seek the things that are on earth. This verse carries the idea that we need to replace our thoughts. As humans, we cannot think about nothing. Paul calls us to replace our worldly thoughts with thoughts from above. Although this is a simple command how do we follow it? In Psalm 119 it says, “I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” How can a young man keep His way pure? The answers are: by knowing God, and not wandering from His commandments. As another example let us look at the temptation of Jesus. Jesus did not use pure willpower when He was tempted by Satan. Instead, He used God’s Word. Christ kept His thoughts pure by keeping the commands of God at the forefront of his mind. Satan’s temptations were not even entertained by Jesus. Christ was thinking of the things from above, therefore He was not tempted. If we truly love God’s Word and treasure it, God will use it to guide our thoughts.
Guiding our thoughts is for our benefit
Psalm 1 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night.” There are blessings promised to the man who dwells on God’s Word rather than on the world’s ideas. The Psalm goes on to speak of this man prospering while the wicked are destroyed. Before you think I am proclaiming health and wealth, let me point out that these blessings may not be physical. Rather it is the comfort of knowing that you are right with God. The Psalm says that God knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Proverbs 9 compares the way of the Righteous to the way of the Fool, and these are the conclusion of the descriptions of both ways. When speaking of the way of the righteous it says, “For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.” But when it speaks of the way of the Fool it says, “But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests go into the depths of Sheol.” Both these ways offer knowledge but one way leads to life and the other death. If we focus on the things of the world we are led down the world’s path. This is the path of a fool, and this path leads to destruction. Sin is not just a hazard to be avoided, it is a deadly disease to be hated. If you entertain sin it destroys you, and it drags you down. Sin causes all hope to be lost, and you feel as if you are not even saved. In comparison to this look at 2 Corinthians 4:18: “As we look not to things that are seen but to the things unseen. For the things seen are transient, but the things unseen are eternal.” Being Eternal, the things of heaven do not have an end. If we set our minds on these things we are following a path that leads to things eternal. That is the hope that focusing on the things of God brings, the hope of eternal life. This eternal life has been promised to all believers, so rather than focusing on the sin that weighs us down we should focus on the hope that we are striving towards.