I’ve always considered myself to be a practical person. Reasonable, logical, sensible. I analyze things, compare and contrast, and weight all the options. I know what makes sense and what doesn’t. I know what is possible and what is a waste of time. I don’t think this makes me a pessimist (although if you asked my friends they might disagree). I’m a realist. I heard a joke before about a realist: “The optimist sees the glass half full, the pessimist sees the glass half empty, but the realist… they know that if they stick around long enough, they will have to clean the glass.” That’s me. The realist.
But I’m slowly starting to see that maybe I do have a little bit of idealist in me as well. Because when no one else is around, and it’s just me and my thoughts, the imagination wheels start spinning. I don’t find my mind wondering about logical, sensible, practical things. Instead, my mind strays towards the impractical, unlikely, and illogical. I allow my mind to imagine my ideal world, my own personal utopia… and when life doesn’t measure up to my imagination, I’m left feeling disappointed. Real life seems like a letdown compared to what I saw in my mind. In my “utopia” I am married with kids. So when I snap back to reality and I’m as single as I’ve ever been… I’m discouraged. In my “utopia” I have a clear sense of direction and walk boldly and confidently wherever I go. But when I snack back to reality, I’m usually lost and confused, begging God for direction… and I’m discouraged. In all truth, it simply comes down to this: I have no control of my own mind.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient
to Christ.
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient
to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10: 4-5
I don’t do this. I let my mind go places that I know it has no business going. Instead of stopping a sinful, disobedient, risky thought before it has any real power, I juggle it. I bounce it around, try it out different ways, imagine what that might look like, etc. I entertain the thought; not take it captive.
And it’s not just my imagination either. It’s my normal, average, everyday thoughts. I think about things that are just not things I should be thinking about. I think about gossip. I think about lies. I question God’s faithfulness or dependability. I question God’s plans for my life. I think bad thoughts about the person who hurt me. I judge other people. I dwell on my anger towards the person who just cut me off. I compare myself to others. I covet and I’m jealous and I imagine my life with more, being better. And the whole time I let my thoughts go there.
Taking a thought captive is really just a (simple) two-step process. The first, is recognition. Is this thought good or bad? The second, is stopping the bad thoughts, casting them out of your head, and not allowing yourself to continue dwelling on it. The problem for me, is that I have the first step down, yet I continue sinning in the second step. I recognize a thought as sinful, as negative, as problematic….
And my prayer is that I would be a person who lives up to the second half of the process. It is clear as day in 2 Corinthians 10:5 … “take CAPTIVE every thought to make it OBEDIENT to Christ.” That my mind and my thoughts may be pleasing to you Lord…
