Managers of Our Minds

I hate stillness. 

More specifically, I hate when I don’t have anything to occupy my mind. I’d like to think it’s because I’m a hardcore type A personality who thrives on feeling “productive,” hates idleness, and longs to devote every available minute of my day to work. 

But, as much as I hate to admit it, the primary reason is that I don’t trust where my mind will go when it's not focused on something. 

The things that fill our minds when they are empty, the thoughts we gravitate toward when we have nothing else to think about, they indicate what our minds are truly “set” on. As believers, we are called to set our minds “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). We are commanded to have headspaces occupied by thoughts pleasing to the Lord, meditating on these thoughts until our minds are set on the world above. However, I had always felt like this verse posed an unrealistic expectation impossible to fulfill all the time. It often feels like there are certain thoughts, ideas, and desires that pop into our consciousness without warning, making it impossible to maintain a pure headspace focused on God. How can we control something seemingly beyond our control?

Fortunately, the original greek version of the verse makes the expectation posed to us much clearer. The greek verb for “set your mind” is phroneo, meaning “to direct one’s mind to a thing.” The verse is not saying “don’t ever let a sinful thought pop into your head,” which is a nearly impossible feat to achieve; instead, it’s telling us to direct our minds away from sin to things pleasing to God. 

And of course, not all thoughts that aren’t focused on God are sin. They become sin when our minds are “set” on these thoughts when they should be set on the things of the Lord. As a people “raised with Christ,” our resurrected selves are commanded to “seek the things that are above” (Colossians 3:1), starting with the thoughts that occupy our minds. Even if our thoughts aren’t sinful, we must take care to ensure that our thought lives are not revolving around earthly things. 

We can’t always control what spontaneously pops into our minds, but we can control what we do with those thoughts. We have the choice of whether or not to entertain the sinful thoughts thrown into our heads. We have the choice of whether or not to redirect those thoughts to things pleasing to the Lord. We have the choice of what people, media, and environments to expose ourselves to, because our circumstances play a large part in what we most commonly think about. 

The thoughts we think can affect our words, actions, and spiritual lives in ways more significant than we could ever imagine. Knowing this, God calls us to be faithful managers of our minds so we can find freedom from the sin that entangles our thoughts. It is crucial to assess what our minds are “set” on, where our thoughts most often tend to wander when our minds are unfocused. Do your thoughts drift unconsciously toward Christ, or do you need to surrender your thought life to God and ask Him to help you to be a more faithful manager of your mind?