Have you ever self-examined your heart, not your physical heart that pumps blood throughout your body; but your spiritual heart where thoughts are produced, and habits are developed? As you probably know, self-exams and annual checkups are highly recommended as a preventative health maintenance approach. However, what is the application for self-examination of your spiritual heart, specifically the mind? Since mental health concerns are on the rise in our nation, let’s do a quick self-exam to know what is going on in our minds.
The mind is a critical component of one’s life. A person’s life flows in the direction of their thoughts. King Solomon determined, “For as a [man] thinks in his [mind], so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7.) In other words, if you continually think negatively, it is because the essence of your thoughts is produced in negativism. Here’s what happens. When a person chooses to think negatively consistently, their brain rewires itself to gather together like neurons, and skips over the neurons that transmit positive, happy-go-lucky thoughts to hone in on the negative.
In order to self-exam and detect what is going on in your mind, I endorse the spiritual and moral compass of the word of God. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the [mind].” The word of God will help you locate where you really are by the words you speak. Luke 6:45 puts it this way, “The good person out of the good treasure of the [mind] produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the [mind] that the mouth speaks.” Rude and foul remarks are an indication that something is wrong, but not necessarily an urgent care need.
Years ago, Dr. Cindy Trimm, a well-established preacher and empowerment specialist, stated that everybody has “issues.” Well, of course, they do, but you never hear preachers make such declarations publicly. Often, folks in church assemblies act as though they are perfect, which is very misleading. I am even guilty of that behavior, but the truth is we all have some form of stinking thinking that could be adjusted.
Our Heavenly Father’s desire is for us to have an abundant, overflowing enjoyable-to-the-last-drop kind of life. But there is a formula, and every self-help guru knows the importance of aligning mind, words, and actions to get the desired outcome. But, if you are oblivious to your own funk, it will be a real task spotting your flaws. That is why the word of God works so well to initiate the process because it pierces even the most deceived soul with truth and love. A pastor profoundly stated, “Don’t listen to the word of God on Sunday morning so you can correct others. Listen so you can correct yourself. God is speaking to you.”
Why is this important? Can’t a person just be who they are without self-examining the deep recesses of their mind? Indeed they can; however, their behavior affects their environment. Funny thing, you don’t always notice dysfunctional behavior in yourself because you have camouflaged it for a long time, but, when you see it in your children, it horrifies you.
When we seek the Lord to help us shine the light on ourselves, He addresses it. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden, neither do people light a candle and place it underneath anything as to conceal it. Instead, they put it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. The light represents the positive behavior having a positive effect on the environment of the home.
When your mind is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your mind is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. If, in fact, the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deceived are you? People will not see your bright light shining, they will see your disgusting attitude and not want any dealings with you.
Therefore, the goal is to be transformed by meditating on God’s word day and night to retrain the neurons in the brain to attract positive neurons. Then we will be prosperous and successful. When our perceptions are off, meditation is the prescription to get back on track.
Stinking thinking doesn’t just show up. We have allowed negative environments and bad experiences to shape the way we think. With determination and persistence, old patterns can be broken, and new behavior can emerge. A self-examination of the mind is a holistic approach to living a more fulfilling and purposeful life. It’s up to you. The question is how bad do you want it?
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