THE MOST IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE IN THE WORLD
Part 3: Life's Greatest Discipline
"We are taking every thought captive
to the obedience of Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5
It is one of the most important admonitions in all of scripture; the exercise of the will to "take every thought captive."
"As the physically weak man can make
himself strong by careful and patient training,
so the man of weak thoughts can make them strong
by exercising himself in right thinking."
-As A Man Thinketh, p. 35
God created the body to be the servant of the mind, not the other way around. Life's greatest discipline is the willingness to "take every thought captive." The man ruled by his lusts is a slave. "By what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved" (2 Peter 2:19).
While we cannot always control what comes in to the mind, we most certainly can control what we do it once it's there! Thus the biblical warnings are of inestimable value:
"He who walks with the wise will become wise,
but the companion of fools suffers harm...
Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals...
Leave the presence of a fool,
or you will not discern words of knowledge."
Proverbs 13:20; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Proverbs 14:7
So just how import are our thoughts? And why is "taking every thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ" considered "Life's Greatest Discipline?" Well, consider this:
"Our destiny is determined by our actions.
And our actions...are the result of our thinking."
-GodThoughts, Volume 1, p.51
"For as he thinks within himself, so he is." -Proverbs 23:7*
*New American Standard. The King James translation: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." The Amplified translation: "For as he thinks within his heart, so is he." And then, the NIV's poor transmutilation: "For he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost." For further study on the terrible "translation" otherwise known as the NIV, click on: New International or Non-Inspired.
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