Acceptable Thinking
Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
God has Spoken
David had a privilege many of us have not had. He had an unobstructed view of the sky while keeping sheep. It made Him realize that God is real and that He speaks in every culture and in every place around the globe. Anyone who really studies the starry heavens and comes away thinking that this universe “just happened” has got to be the kind of person to whom I would love to sell the Brooklyn Bridge.
The stars are always where they should be when they should be there. Their position can be determined with mathematical accuracy. It certainly is not so with humans. We make up our own minds as to where we should be and when we should be there. Usually that means we are in the wrong place at the wrong time. We are likely to be a half hour late as well. Ever since Eve took the forbidden fruit in the garden, people have wanted to make their own decisions. They have wanted to protect their own rights. They have wanted to do things their way. Where has all that gotten us? It has gotten us to where we are today with people hating and killing people. Most never realize that the only way to protect themselves is to quit thinking like a natural man and to be transformed so that we think and talk right. Paul says in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Only the regenerated mind of a Christian can think the way a person should think. When we think right we will talk right. But many who call themselves Christians are still being influenced to believe that “God’s way” does not work. Only man’s way will work. So instead of dying to self, instead of humbling ourselves, instead of being vulnerable, we advocate guns and walls and wars to bring about peace in a world where man wants to do things His way and not the Lord’s way. We use the Bible to justify prejudice against those who do not look like us. We think wrong and we talk wrong because we are not transformed. Instead we are being conformed (or molded) to the ideology and thinking of a fallen world or society.
How Can We think Right?
We have so many voices and experts who claim to know the Bible telling us how to think today that the Christian life becomes very confusing. I decided years ago that I needed to know if the Bible could be understood in a simple way by a simple person. I needed to know why there was so much disagreement and on what was “acceptable thinking” as far as God was concerned. I have come to the conclusion that it is possible for the average person to know and understand the message of the Bible, and thus, to understand the God who created this universe. Just as the stars are orderly, the Bible is orderly. We must understand that God has worked in different ways throughout history. However, His principles have never changed. He is the Creator. We are sinners and we think wrong when we are born the first time. We need to be regenerated or born again in order to think right. That was true in the times of the Old Testament and it is true in the times of the New. However, most Christians have become so-called Christians through something that they are doing for God. They may have gone through the right ceremonies or they may have joined the right political party or they may be doing all kinds of good deeds (and if they are, I thank the Lord for them). But a regenerated Christian has found out that they often think wrong, that they generally speak wrong and that they often do wrong. They have found out that God wants their trust and not their works and self-righteousness. He wants them to realize that those who are born again are not doing something to please God but have accepted what Christ has done on their behalf. Only then do they please God since without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). The faith that is referred to in Hebrews is not the general faith that there is a God, but personal faith in the Lord Jesus. Only when we start thinking right about what makes a Christian will we start thinking right about how a Christian can please God.
Down through the years, most religions including Christianity have tried to make converts by force. It doesn’t work. It only causes resentment. Many who call themselves Christians have quit trying to make converts and have just tried to force those who do not believe in the Lord, to act as though they do. This also causes resentment.
Conclusion
The first murderer in the Bible asked God if he was his brother’s keeper (Genesis 4:9). He implied that he was not. His thinking was wrong because we are our brother’s keeper. Our first responsibility as Christians to our brothers in the general sense is to make sure that everyone has heard the simple truth that Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6). We need to make sure people realize that eternity is more important than time and that we aren’t ready to live until we are ready to die. We also need to help the poor and the hungry whether they believe as we do or not. However, we tend to think that war and killing solves problems. It doesn’t and thinking it does is not acceptable thinking. When we kill it just means that someone has been put in heaven or in hell for eternity. And that action cannot be undone. And that is simply not acceptable.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of July 17, 2016