June 27, 2004

Cawson St. Church of Christ

Mural Worthey

Hopewell, Virginia

We have learned from a lot of research that it matters what we eat. When you are really hungry, it may not seem to matter what you eat as much as that you have something to eat. All food items fill the stomach cavity and temporarily satisfy the pains of hunger. Bad food may keep a dying person alive for the moment. From all of this, one may be encouraged to think that it does not really matter what one eats. But, of course, it does. We are more aware now than anytime in medical history of the importance of what we put into our bodies for consumption. It is literally a matter of life and death, in time. We either have healthy bodies by consuming good foods, or we will have many health problems by eating unhealthy items. It is really a simple thing. There is a direct relationship between what we consume and how healthy we are. Doctors preach that to every patient who comes into their office. They must surely get disappointed because so few of us listen to them, until it is too late.

In like manner, it matters what we put into our minds. This is even more important than what you eat. If it matters what you put into your mouth and stomach, it is far more important what you put into your minds. What you think about controls your behavior, habits of life, character, and therefore, eternal destiny. Guard diligently what you allow to enter into your hearts! When we eat, we choose the items that we want to consume. Even from what is on our plates, we separate one item from another. In the same manner, we should discern carefully what we allow into our hearts. I want to emphasize the importance of this truth today.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Phil. 4:8.)

"For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defiles not a man." (Matt. 15:19-20.) Jesus identified what causes man to commit evil deeds. It comes from the heart—the thinking process within. "O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matt. 12:34.)

"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, says he to thee; but his heart is not with thee." (Prov. 23:7, KJV) "Do not eat the food of a stingy man; do not crave his delicacies. For he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost. ‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you." (Prov. 23:6-7, NIV.) The KJV is misleading here. The context is about what you should do when dining with a wealthy man or with a stingy man. Do not be given to gluttony and crave the delicacies of the rich for that food is deceptive. Do not desire the food of the rich. And be careful also when you eat with a stingy man. He may encourage you to eat and drink and enjoy yourself, but he does not really mean it. He is thinking about the cost of the food. But even so, this passage illustrates the truth that the stingy man is who he is because of what he thinks upon. On the other hand, some pursue riches because of what they have allowed into their hearts.

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Gen. 6:5.)

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." (Prov. 4:23.)

"And he said unto them, Take heed what you hear." (Mark 4:24, KJV.) "Consider carefully what you hear." (NIV)

"A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones." (Prov. 17:22.)

If affects your emotional well being. What you think about will determine whether you are happy or depressed. Paul wrote Philippians from a prison (1:14), yet the theme of this letter is joy and rejoicing in the Lord. Paul told us how this was possible. He wrote that he had learned to be content whatever the circumstances. (4:11.) "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation." (4:12.)

Paul and Silas sang hymns while in prison in Philippi after they had been beaten! The Bible says that they had been "severely flogged." (Acts 16:23.) How could these two missionaries behave in such joyful ways when their circumstances of life were not so pleasant? The answer is that your attitude is dependent upon what you allow into your hearts and thinking process.

Go home this afternoon and dwell upon pessimistic, gloomy things for several hours. Think about all the bad things that have ever happened to you and how others have done you wrong. Talk about the faults of others. Instead of thinking about things that are true, honest, just, lovely and good report, think about things that are not true, or lovely, or of good report. At the end of the day, you will be severely depressed and amazingly unhappy. We are not happy in life because we think upon harmful things. You can be joyful no matter the circumstances of your life. I know people who are in nursing homes who are bright and cheerful. Another just down the hall is depressed and bemoaning his/her situation in life. What makes the difference? Surely, it is obvious that it is attitude and what one thinks upon.

The title of Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of Positive Thinking, is true. There is power in positive thinking. Peale was once conducting a religious service on board the SS Lurline. He suggested to the people who were carrying worries in their minds that they go to the stern of the vessel and imaginatively take each anxious thought out of the mind, drop it overboard, and watch it disappear in the wake of the ship. (Peale, 22.) Children at our VBS one year were being taught about the need for forgiveness. Balloons were filled with helium and carried out to the park. As they released the balloons, they were told to let go of things that they held against others. There is a tremendous blessing and freedom in letting go of hurts and grudges.

One reason that there is tremendous power in prayer, in its effect upon us, is that when we are praying to God we are usually the most positive in our thinking and speech. If we could just continue to think the rest of the day the way we do when we speak to God. It is hard to be grumpy with God. Our thoughts are always positive and uplifting when we pray.

It determines your actions. Why do some people fly airplanes into buildings committing both murder and suicide? Why do some strap themselves with bombs, willing to die in the process of killing others around them? They do it because of what they have been listening to. If you attend enough of the Friday "sermons" from unhappy, discontented, angry speakers, you will be incited to act on the poisonous information that you have received.

If you think about sexual things and look at pictures of half-dressed or undressed beautiful people, you will want to go out and commit fornication. What enters into our thinking determines our behavior.

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death." (James 1:13-15.)

Wrong thinking caused Adam and Eve to disobey God. The fruit appealed to the eyes and, beside that, it would make them wise, like God. Satan is the one who suggested all these "benefits." He planted the thoughts in Eve’s mind. Wrong thinking prompted Judas to betray the Lord of glory. We know from the Bible that he was covetous. He dwelt upon having things that were not his. The fastest way to get them was by stealing and betraying, instead of by working.

Why do some Christians leave the church? One reason is that they allow negative thoughts to flood their minds about the church. Instead of seeing the good in others, they see the ugly and bad. They talk about others until there is no reason to stay. They do not think upon things that are of good report. They constantly meditate upon bad reports and even make some of those reports. You can talk yourself right out of faithful participation in the church. What you think upon will directly affect your actions.

What we think about affects us the same way that what we put into our car affects how and whether the car will run. What if we took a funnel and every time you ran low of gasoline, we poured something into your tank. The car will continue to run as long as we put the right kind of fuel in the tank. I once put regular gasoline in a van that had a diesel engine. If we put water into the tank, the engine will immediately stop. There is an immediate and direct affect depending upon what we put into the tank. So likewise, it is with our thinking. If we put enough of the wrong concepts into our minds, there will be a break down at some point.

Someone might say that this sounds good, but practically how do we go about changing our thinking process. I asked a friend that question this week as we had lunch. He is a professional counselor. I told him the topic of the message for this morning. When I suggested that the process might be difficult to reverse, he replied that the changes can occur quickly.

Humans are not exactly like automobiles or pipelines. We are not mechanical and therefore we do not respond in the same way. But it is true that what we allow into our mind affects us immediately. We can begin today to think upon things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praise-worthy. Those thoughts will change us from within. We can change our behavior by guarding what we think about it. "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." Start practicing the habit of good thoughts. Keep negative, impure, bad reports out of your heart.

Marriages fail because of what people think about. Churches fail to grow and prosper due to the thoughts of the members and leaders. People reject the Gospel because of their thoughts. Often the Bible says that "Jesus knowing their hearts said unto them." He knew that they were thinking and their thinking was confused and wrong.