Do you intentionally guard your minds?
Our minds determine what we say and do. Therefore, it is important that we guard our minds. And we guard it by watching what we let in and what we feed it via what we read, watch or even listen to.
We will dwell on what we let into our minds and what we dwell upon will come out as words and actions.
Hence, Paul tells the Philippians:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Philippians 4:8, NKJV
Meditate on These Things
Paul says to “Meditate on these things.” To think on those things that are good, noble and pure. Why? Because what we meditate upon plays on our minds and then we will act out and say aloud what we meditate on. And this is why we need to guard our minds and to choose wisely what to meditate on.
By the way, this is not the same as what the new agers term positive thinking where you are to reject all negativity and only think positively to attract the “good vibes”. Think about it: If you do not have a great singing voice, no amount of positive thinking is going to change it, ya?
The need to be careful with what we fill our minds with is even more critical these days where many things are fighting for our attention and visually, we are bombarded from all directions, especially via social media.
Not being aware that we need to guard our minds will let in many negative and unhelpful world views and values too easily.
Thoughts Become Actions and Words
Remember: our thoughts become actions and words. And our thoughts are influenced by what we read and watch and listen to. So, if we watch too many rubbishy shows or read too many trashy books, guess what?
The values and viewpoints in these shows and books will slowly become our values and viewpoints too. And then we will behave like the characters in the shows and books we watch and read. Scary, huh?
Guard Our Minds: Feed It the Word of God
Guard our minds. Be careful what we feed it.
If we call ourselves Christians, then we should be feeding our minds with God’s word and on a regular basis. Not just once in a blue moon or only when we need help. We need to get acquainted with His word which will give us the resilience, the courage, and the wisdom we need to navigate life.
Feed Our Minds Regularly
Just as we need to feed our bodies daily, so should we feed our minds daily.
But let’s not be legalistic about this and feel guilty or condemned for skipping a day or two. Daily is actually doable since I am not talking about doing an in-depth bible study or spending an hour in your prayer closet daily. All I am talking about is just reading our Bibles regularly.
Just 10 minutes a day. Or grab a devotional and read a page a day. There are so many resources out there in the market. Free ones, paid ones. Printed ones, online ones. Audio ones. Just pick one and go!
Over time, you will get acquainted with God’s voice which will be the lamp unto your feet, guiding you in the way ahead.
Don’t Believe Satan’s Lie
If you have babies at home or toddlers, I know having an uninterrupted stretch of time seems impossible. That’s why I say, just 10 minutes will do. Don’t set yourself up for failure by insisting that you need an hour with God or you might as well don’t do it. That is a lie from the devil himself.
Guard your minds, read your Bible.
Guard Your Minds: Be Careful of Social Media
As we want to feed our minds with God’s word on a regular basis, we also want NOT to feed our minds with fluff. And one big attractive fluff in this age is social media.
Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Snapchat, Tik Tok. The list goes on.
All these are designed to distract us and get us addicted to them. And many of us are already addicted to them, if we are honest.
I am not saying eliminate all social media. That is unrealistic and impractical unless you belong to the older generation who did not grow up with it.
But be very careful how much time you spend on them. It is easy to lose hours of our time mindlessly scrolling through social media and then complain that we do not have time to read our Bibles or pray.
Besides, seeing what other people have or do on social media can easily lead to covetousness and envy. Just like junk food fills us up with empty calories, social media fills us up with empty information, information that often does not bring us any closer to God but leaves us filling hollow, restless and even fearful.
Guard our minds by feeding it the right things, like the Bible. And do not feed it unhealthy things like social media.
And as moms, we need to do the same for our children.
Guard our Children’s Minds for Them
But because they are younger and less mature, we need to help guard our children’s minds for them.
Read the Bible
As we ourselves have to read the Word of God on a regular basis guard our minds against wrong values and wrong thinking, we have to teach our children to read their Bibles on a regular basis.
When they are younger, sit with them to read the bible with them. When they are older, require them to do their devotions. Again, just 10 minutes of reading. Do it together if that helps both of you to be accountable.
Watch Out for Social Media
Just as we have to be mindful of spending excessive time on social media, we have to mindful of the time our children spend on social media as well. And be mindful of what books, shows and music they read, watch and listen to as well.
What values do these books, shows and songs encourage and promote? Do they even portray a realistic view of the world, about relationships, especially boy-girl relationships and parent-child relationships? Do we want to encourage these values?
I am not saying don’t let them get on social media at all (more power to you if you can) or vet every single book and movie they read and watch. But be mindful of their choices. Talk to them about why certain books and shows are off-limits and why their older siblings/cousins/peer are allowed to read/watch them.
Guard Our Minds Judiciously
What we meditate upon will be acted out, in word and deed. We need to be intentional about what we allow into our minds.
Let us take a leaf from Day 10 of the 40 Day 2020 Devotion.
“Set our minds straight so that we will think biblically and act wisely for our own good in the long run. “
Day 10, 40.Day 2020. In the Long Run.
Amen to thinking biblically and then acting wisely for our own good. And this comes from guarding our minds and being very intentional about what we allow and not allow into our minds.
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