Do you ever catch yourself daydreaming? Of course, you do. We all daydream from time to time. Sometimes, we daydream about the great or fun things we’re going to do. Sometimes, we’re just wasting time. Other times, our daydreams can be harmful, such as daydreaming about another person’s spouse or life or possessions being yours and then dreaming about whatever it takes to make that a reality. It’s what morphs into cancel culture, eventually. It’s what leads to gossip, slander, and even murder in the Bible.
What are you thinking about? Believe it or not, it matters. Now, if you’re thinking about hurtful and harmful things, you’d better change course really fast because sin starts in the mind. It begins with what you’re thinking about, then moves to words, and, finally, to our actions. So, today, I want to share with you the importance of thinking about what you’re thinking about.
What It Really Means
Now, in the Bible, there are at least a couple of famous, well-known passages that most people know. In the Old Testament, it would have to be the 23rd Psalm. In the New Testament, it’s one verse. Do you know what it is? (Think about what it is.) John 3:16. You see it at football games. You see it all over Wrestlemania. It’s everywhere. These are “classics” that most of us, including many who don’t follow Christ, know. But let’s really think about one for a few moments.
Let’s look at Psalm 23 and look at what it really means.
- “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” This means I shall not have many desires because the greatest desire is God. If I’ve got Him, I’ve got everything else.
- “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” Why do you think He makes us? Well, because we’re not likely to do so on our own. We’re just busy, busy, busy.
- “He leads me beside still waters.” Because we don’t always know where to find them. And we don’t like anything that’s still; like, we want action.
- “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness.” Paths of righteousness, by the way, are the only way to restore the soul. We spend so much time in unrighteousness. Romans 1:18b says we suppress the truth by our wickedness and unrighteousness. So, leading us to righteous paths is the way to go.
- He does all this “for His name’s sake.” In other words, for His glory, even (or maybe especially), “when I’m in the valley of the shadow of death,” because that’s the single most difficult, scary time that any of us will ever face.
- “I will fear no evil.” Why not? Because “You are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Some of us repeat these verses so much, we forget what they’re really saying. And if it just becomes the endless reciting of formulaic words, well, they’re going to lose any benefit. What should you do instead? Yep, think about what you’re thinking about.
So how do you do that? First, decide if you should even be thinking about what you’re thinking about. Is what I’m thinking about edifying? Is it helpful? Does it draw me closer to God or lead me further away? God’s Word says, in Philippians 4:8, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there’s any excellence, if there’s anything worthy of praise, think about those things.”
Second, don’t just think about them. Think about what they really mean. Ruminate on them. Meditate on them. Notice how far beyond just thinking these actions should go, how far beyond good intentions it goes.
Good Intentions vs. Obedience
Many times, we mean to do a lot of good things for God. We intend to do a lot of good things. But what do they say about good intentions? The road to hell is paved with good intentions. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” The Bible calls that road [of good intentions] a broad road—a highway. It says many find this one that leads to destruction. In other words, it’s easy to find, it’s easy to locate, access, travel on. It’s well marked.
But it’s also well paved, and that’s an intriguing way to think about it. What does that mean? Well, it’s got cheap materials. It’s easily paved at a low cost. It’s comfortable. It’s low maintenance. There’s a lot of on-ramps; there’s a lot of off-ramps. There’s a lot of disobedience on this road. There’s lots of virtue signaling on this highway, lots of good intentions, tons of unfulfilled intentions.
Let me put it another way because I really want you to get this. In Oregon, the Rogue River eventually comes to a place called Hell’s Gate. The water there seems very tranquil, with rock canyons on either side. It’s really beautiful. However, that’s on the surface. Here’s what the locals know: The water below is 150 feet deep, and because the river is channeled into such a small area, it is incredibly powerful.
Many years ago, when filming the John Wayne movie “Rooster Cogburn,” one of the scenes called for a guy to jump from one of the cliffs at Hell’s Gate into this 150-foot-deep pool of water. The stunt man studied the currents and found that about four or five feet below the seemingly tranquil surface of the water, there were actually whirlpools that could have sucked him straight down and killed him. Now, although this stunt man was paid $150,000 for one jump (half a million dollars today), afterward, he said he would never do it again. Remember, Jesus said, “narrow is the [way] that leads to life.”
Get this: When things get narrow, they get strong and deep and powerful. Now, the highway doesn’t require much other than that we remain upright and have a pulse. No sacrifice, no real taking a stand. No breaking away from the masses (otherwise known as the herd).
But this is problematic because the Lord loves the sacrificial heart that puts others first. But, you know what He loves even more? Obedience. Not lip service. Not virtue signaling. Not your good intentions. Obedience, which is actually doing what God says. Many Christians talk a good game, but I think far fewer step out in obedience to do what God has asked them to do sometimes, commanded them to do.
1 John makes it clear that those who love the Lord prove it one way and one way only: through their obedience. Anything short of obedience means we never moved beyond just thinking about what we’re thinking about. And that’s especially important in light of Proverbs 23:7, which says, “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” This makes it clear that our thoughts direct our words, as I said before, which directs our actions, which will direct our path.
Think about what you’re thinking about. You know why? Eventually, it’s where you’re going. Eventually, it’s who you’re becoming.
Join us on Sunday mornings at The Summit to move you along the path to becoming who God created you to become. Whether in-person or online, 9am or 11am MDT, we hope to see you there!
Until next Thursday, keep thinking about that which is honorable, pure, and praise-worthy!
~Pastor Rob
Aka, P-Ro