Take Control Over Your Thought Life

Selena Smith
Jul 8, 2023
5 min read

The human mind is the network of thoughts and consciousness that makes us who we are ("What Is The Difference Between Brain And Mind?"). It's that internal voice inside our heads that articulates whatever we are thinking. Our minds are responsible for developing our personalities, devising our ideas, and storing our memories. They are the fortresses that protect our thoughts from the outside world, ensuring we are the only ones who know what is happening inside our heads. Because no one can see what we think, it gives us the freedom to fill our minds with anything we could imagine.

But what if someone could read your mind?

Just the idea of our minds being exposed can bring shame, guilt, and anxiety. Unlike other types of sin, the corruption of our thought lives has the ability to stay secret, kept safe in the confinement of our minds. It is difficult to understand the necessity of purifying our minds without the discernment of others to convict us. But according to the Bible, it is essential to prevent sinful thoughts from stewing in our heads because those thoughts affect what we do. It says in Mark 7:21-22, "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts... All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." In other words, when we fill our minds with evil, everything else - our actions, behavior, and demeanor - reflect our corrupted thoughts. It is impossible for us to imitate Christ when we are imitating the sin festering in our minds.

The phrase "taking our thoughts captive" is often thrown around in Christian culture without much contemplation about what it truly means. It is crucial to read those words within the context of the passage they came from to grasp their urgency and significance.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

In this passage, we can quickly notice the war language embedded into the verses. Phrases like "waging war," "weapons of our warfare," and "destroy strongholds" indicate that these words are not a passive reminder to be mindful of our thought lives. Instead, they inform us that our minds are in a constant war against the enemy, whose purpose in life is to see us burn in the eternal flames (John 8:44). The enemy will tempt us (Matthew 4:3) and deceive us (2 Corinthians 4:4) to lure us into his trap of lies and away from God's truth.

Imagine your mind as a city under attack. You have an army stationed outside the city walls, ready to defend against the attackers. If the troops are well-equipped, they will have the necessary resources to defeat their opponents. But what would happen if the soldiers were not equipped for battle? Without armor and weapons, your army will lack what they need to defend themselves. Your attackers are clever and would undoubtedly take advantage of the troops' weaknesses to defeat them. Then they would be able to infiltrate the walls and hurl weapons at your city to bring it to destruction. This analogy is similar to how the devil takes advantage of our weaknesses to throw lies and temptations into our minds. But we have the choice to equip ourselves with the weapons God gives us through Christ so that we can defend ourselves against the enemy's attacks. The passage in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 gives us instructions on how to use the power of Christ to combat evil thoughts.

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.

We live in a physical world. It is difficult to imagine that another world exists since the physical world is the only thing we can see. But the Bible tells us that the spiritual realm is real and relevant to our lives because it's where the enemy works to bring us to destruction. But unlike our battles in the physical world, our war in the spiritual realm can have eternal consequences.

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

According to the Enduring Word Commentary, the word "flesh" in this verse is not used to mean "earthly," as it does in the previous verse. Instead, "flesh" is used to describe the sinful weapons that the enemy uses against us. He builds strongholds inside us, embedding falsehoods in our hearts behind the protection of fortified walls. But we don't fight back using the sinful weapons the enemy uses. Instead, we rely on the divine power we have through Christ to destroy the strongholds the enemy has planted in us. But we must remember that we alone do not possess this power; only through God's strength can we destroy the enemy's strongholds.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Any arguments or opinions we encounter in our lives that pridefully exalt themselves over God should be dissected and refuted using Scripture. But concerning our own thoughts, notice how the second half of the verse doesn't urge us to destroy them immediately. Shoving every evil thought under the rug is like hiding our sin because we aren't taking the time to acknowledge it. Instead, the verse commands us to "take our thoughts captive." In other words, we must capture those sinful thoughts so that we can first confess them to God. First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." When we give our thoughts to God and ask for His forgiveness, we are cleansed from our unrighteousness, unlike if we had chosen to ignore our sins. Afterward, we can confidently move on from those thoughts, knowing we are forgiven in God's sight.

How can we practically keep our minds pure?

Acknowledge the presence of the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm contains an enemy doing all he can to lure you from Christ by throwing lies and temptations at your mind. If we fail to acknowledge the existence of the spiritual realm, then we will be unprepared for the enemy's attacks.
Ask God for His divine power. Jesus says in John 16:23, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you." We can pray that God would give us the strength to resist sinful thoughts, bring awareness to any strongholds in our hearts, and destroy the enemy's efforts to bring us down. And if we ask in Jesus' name, the Bible says God will give us what we request.
Be watchful of your thoughts. Always be aware of your thoughts and discern if they please God. If you encounter sin in your mind, confess it to God so that you can be cleansed from your unrighteousness and move on in His forgiveness.
Read the Bible. It's impossible to discern if a thought aligns with God's Word if we haven't read it enough to know what it says. In addition, memorizing and meditating on Scripture can help to keep our minds on things pleasing to God (Colossians 3:2).
Don't be discouraged when you mess up. As sinners, it is virtually impossible to keep our minds constantly clear of sin. But God knows about our inability to live a life of complete holiness, which is why He sent Jesus to do it for us. Jesus' life and death on the cross paid the ransom for our evil thoughts, so we can accept forgiveness whenever we mess up. Because we can become cleansed from our unrighteousness, we can pursue a closer relationship with God by keeping our minds rooted in His truth.