A Sound Mind
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7
It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since we were all worried about Y2K. Those fears, like many that we have, were completely unfounded. I am glad that all of our computers didn’t blow up, that our water supply wasn’t cut off, or our electricity, and that all the other problems that were predicted to happen didn’t happen.
I was listening to the Rush Limbaugh radio program a few years ago when he quoted from someone the 13 things mentally strong people do NOT do. When one begins to examine each of these statements, most, if not all, can be directly related to principles laid out in the word of God. Here is the list:
1 Feel sorry for themselves. God doesn’t want us moping around feeling sorry for ourselves when we should be up and about serving Him by serving others, the best way to get out of the doldrums. Besides, who wants to come to a pity party?
2 Give away their power. The above-mentioned verse tells us that God gives us power, that is, power to serve Him and to live a Christian life. To not take advantage of the power of the Holy Spirit who resides within every believer would almost be the same as giving it away. Putting others first doesn’t mean letting folks treat us like a doormat. We are to be meek, that is, be strong in the Lord, but have our strength under control.
3 Shy away from change. Folks my age tend to get “set in their way” and do not like to get out of our comfort zone. But change is a part of life. In order to grow and mature in Christ, we have to step out in faith, and sometimes this means doing things or going places that are not familiar to us.
4 Focus on things they can’t control. Some of us are “control freaks”. We like to be in control, and when we are in situations that we can’t control, we become irritable, nervous, or upset. Scripture tells us to turn our problems over to God because He cares for us. There is nothing out of His control.
5 Worry about pleasing everyone. Why worry about something that is impossible? Our focus should be on pleasing the Lord because His opinion is the only one that really counts.
6 Fear taking risks. One never gets anywhere without taking some risks. All successful people had to take risks to arrive at their goal. Sometimes it is risky to step out in faith to serve God, but it is worth the risk. God doesn’t ask us to do something that He doesn’t give us the ability to do.
7 Dwell on the past. Philippians 2:13 tells us to “forget those things which are behind, and reach forth unto those things which are before (us)”. The past is “been there, done that”. We can’t get into a time machine and go back and undo some of those dumb things that we did so why dwell on them? Committed sins should be repented of and then we can move on knowing that God has forgiven us.
8 Make the same mistakes over and over. That old saying about history is so true: if we don’t study it and learn from it, we will repeat the same mistakes that we made before. It has been said that doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different outcome is a mark of insanity. Someone who repents of a sin but then continues in that sin may not be insane, but he or she has not really repented thus left vulnerable to keep making the same mistakes over and over.
9 Resent other people’s success. This is a major problem with folks. People become envious of other’s success, but these same people do not want to do what the successful person did to get where he or she is. The energy that we expend on resentment would better serve us by using that energy to work toward our own successes.
10 Give up. Don’t be a quitter. The Apostle Paul, as much hardship and persecution that he had to endure, never gave up. He “press(ed) toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”. As the saying goes, “when the going gets tough the tough get going”.
11 Fear being alone. We are never really alone for the Lord is with us at all times. Solitude can heighten our attention toward the things that God is trying to teach us.
12 Think the world owes them anything. We certainly live in an “age of entitlement” where many folks have the mistaken idea that they are “owed” something from the pocketbooks of others. Everyone is designed to contribute their time and talents to the betterment of us all. Scripture tells us that those who choose not to work do not get to eat (II Thessalonians 3:10). A good day’s work doesn’t just help us materially; it helps us mentally to know that we contributed our talents and effort to make life better for our family and for others.
13 Expect immediate results. Patience is one of the “fruits of the spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23) and is sorely missing in today’s society. Goes doesn’t operate by our timetable. He is never early, never late, but right on time, His time. Thus, if we are praying for something and the answer doesn’t come immediately (and most of the time it doesn’t), we should not give up. Keep praying and trusting, and God will take care of the matter.
In summary, a sound mind comes from placing all trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One who can keep us sane, positive, and joyful in this crazy, sin-filled world. My prayer for you all is for a happy, prosperous, and blessed 2020.