Minding Your Thoughts
A Biblical Overview of Obtaining and Maintaining a Biblical Thought Life
Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Years ago as a teenager, I took a trip on a corporate plane. It was very exciting; we were treated like royalty. At one of the airports that we stopped at, there was a big crowd waiting for us, so we thought. They had a welcome planned that was suitable for a rock star, but it wasn’t for us. It was an election year, and this crowd was waiting for their candidate to arrive and incorrectly thought our plane was his plane, but for a while there we really thought that we were somebody. We suffered from the vanity of our mind. We built ourselves up, only to be let down by the harshness of reality.
Our Lord does not want His people, His children to walk in the vanity of their mind. He wants the mind of His followers to be based in reality. The word vanity as used in this verse means, “what is devoid of truth and appropriateness, perverseness, depravity, frailty, want of vigor” (Strongs Concordance). As a simple illustration, think about the standard of living that a person has. If that person is a millionaire, there is nothing wrong with spending like a millionaire (although they may soon lose their millionaire status), but it is their money, and they can do with it as they wish.
But if a person only has $100,000 they better not give into the vanity of their mind and live like they are a millionaire, for if they do, we will soon be visiting them in the poorhouse. Remember the axiom, “When your outgo exceeds your income then your upkeep will become your downfall.” In other words, be realistic, know the truth about your financial status, be appropriate with your money, do not use your finances on perverseness or depravity, don’t be frail, deal with it and stay strong.
This is true with all other aspects of life. Keep your mind real, realistic, filled with truth not fabrications of your own ego, appropriate on all matters, not filled with perversion or depravity, not weak but strong. Then you will fulfill today’s verse. There should be a difference in God’s people, and that difference many times begins in the mind.
May the Lord Bless and be pleased with your thought life today.
Dr. William T. Howe
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