So What Do You Really Think?

Reen and I recently spent the day with a friend Reen has known for years. We’ll call him Mike. About five years ago Mike retired from a high paying position. All he desired after retirement was to build the house of his dreams. An engineer, he insisted on perfection and for years struggled endlessly with architects, contractors, and the builder. Frustration and misery seemed to dominate his thoughts as the years passed.

Now, several years later, he sits in his imperfect house and watches television all day long…no purpose, no meaning, depressed and hopeless. What happened?

Well, he learned a lesson many never realize. Acquiring things simply doesn’t make for a meaningful life. In the same way that a thing has no emotion, feeling or meaning, it can offer nothing in return. Things never fill the soul or delight the heart. Any reward they offer is fleeting.

As Reen says, his house became his “Precious” as depicted in the Narnia tales. It consumed and swallowed his thinking until it swallowed him. He had no other interest and is ultimately living an empty and miserable existence.

The truth is that whatever you think about-good or bad-actually produces a resultant fruit. As the Bible explains, “As a man thinks, so is he. “(Proverbs 23:7) Walter Anderson, American author and painter writes, “You and I are not what we eat; we are what we think.”

As you yearn to experience Your Refreshed Life, begin to take note of the things you think about and the focus of your mind’s thoughts. These will be the things your heart hungers for…but will they leave you fulfilled or desolate? In a very real way, it’s your choice. One wise person once wrote, “Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Paul, Jesus’ follower, adds to this, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

This month we are going to look at ways to control our thoughts and order our minds so that a vibrant fulfilling life of meaning and purpose are the result… with joy and delight as our reward.