Set Your Mind on Things Above

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” -Marcus Aurelius

Thoughts turn into words, words turn into actions, actions become habits, and eventually you become a totally different person than you once were, all because of one thought – hypothetically at least. When I read this quote it struck me more like this: “My life will thrive if my thoughts are consumed by God.”

As humans we are naturally selfish. We tend to only think of ourselves and what we need and what we want. We worry about ourselves first, and think about everyone else second. Our thoughts are often full of things they shouldn’t be. Our minds are consumed with things of this world, and every person is guilty of losing the battle of the mind. A question for you all is: who is the first person you think of in the morning when you wake up? What is the last thing that crosses your mind before you fall asleep at night? A challenge for you is to make God be the first person you talk to, and to have the last thing you do every night be pray. There are so many things that we already avoid and censor in our lives. We strive daily to become more Christ-like, and day by day we struggle. But our thoughts are something that only we can control. What and who we think of can effect our lives in such a powerful way. We are surrounded by swearing, for example, and after a while we become numb to it. It’s just normal to hear people talk like that. The more we hear something the more it starts to cross our minds. We have a daily battle against the world not in just our actions, but also in our thoughts. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. -Romans 12:2

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. -Colossians 3:2

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. -Philippians 4:8