Your thoughts matter so much! The saying, the thought counts, rings true because what you think determines what you become. Unfortunately, most tend to be held captive by toxic thoughts rather than focusing on God’s truth.
“As a man thinks, so is he.” – Proverbs 23:7a
The truth is that each person’s thinking and core identity is a direct reflection of the conditions of one’s heart. And, this is a prime example of “as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
One of the most important things we do as humans is thinking but your thinking can be profitable or futile. We should all aim to be the masters of our thoughts whether we think of good or think of evil. We cannot think both good and evil thoughts simultaneously any more than we can travel east and west at the same time. A thought must be all good, for if it contains any evil, it is evil. So, we have to choose carefully what to think. Our thoughts are:
- righteous or unrighteous,
- clean or unclean,
- moral or immoral,
- honest or dishonest,
- pure or impure,
- true or untrue,
- just or unjust,
- good or bad, etc.
In Psalm 119:11, the psalmist says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Like a costly treasure, God’s Word should be hidden in our hearts and our minds, so that we guard ourselves against sinning against God in thought, word, or deed. We always sin in thought before we sin in word or deed because the things that defile us, as Jesus said, originate inside us. A thief is a thief because he thinks like a thief. A liar is a liar because he thinks like a liar. An adulterer is an adulterer because he thinks like an adulterer. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:18) A person cannot live a righteous life and think unrighteous thoughts. Likewise, one who thinks good thoughts cannot live a bad life. No one can live a righteous and unrighteous life at the same time. One can, however, forsake, leave or refuse his unrighteous thoughts and return to the Eternal, and He will abundantly forgive.
Philippians 4:8 contains the apostle Paul’s suggestion about the content of our meditation. He says, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, . . . just, . . . pure, . . . lovely, . . . of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.” He is saying that we have a choice in what we think about, either the good or the evil, so choose to think righteous thoughts because we are what we think.
Heart Check:
- How’s your thought life? Is it in right standing? Take some time to reflect and clean house.
- Like a costly treasure, God’s Word should be hidden in our hearts and our minds, so that we guard ourselves against sinning against God in thought, word, or deed. What scriptures can you begin to memorize?
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Angelisa is a Jesus enthusiast, Worship leader & Christian youth leader. She considers herself to be the old-fashioned type of girl who loves spicy food and belly bottom laughter. Among her passions are singing, working with children, and encouraging others.