We Become What We Think About

01 Nov We Become What We Think About

The mind works in some pretty marvelous ways.

I have a friend who has a near photographic memory. He used to perform in Shakespearean plays, and to memorize his part all he had to do was read through the play four or five times. Then not only did he have his part memorized, he had everyone’s part memorized. He never seems to forget anything. Don’t play Trivial Pursuit with him.

This pales in comparison, however, to some other remarkable feats of memory. Renowned conductor Arturo Toscanini had a phenomenal memory and had memorized many complete musical scores—the huge books of music the conductor uses when he conducts a symphony orchestra. It has every note played by every musical instrument in the orchestra! The conductor’ score for Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony is over 200 pages long!

Once, just before a concert, a clarinetist came up to Toscanini and said that he would be unable to play as the E-natural key on his instrument had just broken. Toscanini thought deeply for a moment and then announced, “It’s all right; you don’t have an E-natural tonight.”

But as intriguing and intricate as the mind’s capacity for memory is, even more powerful is its impact on our behavior. Luke 6:45 reads, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Both Scripture and observation tell us that we must be careful what we let into our mind and what we allow our minds to dwell on, for that is what produces our words and actions.

How does the mind work?

In many ways, the mind works just like a computer; you only get out of it what you put into it – garbage in, garbage out. The same is generally true of our minds. If we put worthless, inaccurate, or faulty information into our minds, that is what we tend to get out of it.

Unlike computers, however, the mind can create its own worthless, inaccurate, or faulty information. Garbage doesn’t have to be downloaded from the outside. Someone can tell us as a child that we are stupid, and afterward, we will continue to water, fertilize, and nurture that seedling into a forest of negative thoughts and emotions.

That is why it is so critical that we exercise great care in what we allow into our mind and what we allow our mind to dwell on.

There are three things we must do to fill our minds with what we need.

First, we have to believe what is true!

We have to be diligent, discerning, and honest to make sure that we are not ignorant or self-deceived. It does no one any good not to be in touch with reality.

In her book titled Up to No Good: The Rascally Things Boys Do, Kitty Harmon recounts true stories of men who grew up to be “perfectly decent.” I’ve retold one particular story from her book before, but do so again because it is such a powerful illustration of a truth worth reminding ourselves of.

In one story, “Lou was playing with some friends and decided to try flying. So, they climbed up onto the roof of the barn, and Lou strapped some heavy wooden boards onto his brother’s arms. Then they counted down, and he jumped. He was lying on the ground, groaning in pain with several broken bones, and Lou yelled, “Hey Shorty! You forgot to flap your wings!”

You see, Lou’s brother, Shorty—momentarily persuaded by Lou—believed he could fly. Based on that belief, Shorty jumped off the roof of the barn. But what he believed was wrong, and he paid the price.

That’s what can happen if you are not in touch with reality.

So, step number one is to work hard to make sure that what you believe is actually true.

Second, we need to fill our minds with truth.

The more truth we know, the better off we are.

I remember as a small boy not knowing what poison ivy looked like. I got into some and paid a price for a miserable couple of weeks. Now I know what it looks like and I haven’t had it since. A little knowledge can go a long way.

We need to be alert to, on the hunt for, and highly regard what is true. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” To the degree that we do not know the truth, or to the degree that we do not believe it, to that degree, we are vulnerable to ignorance and deception.

Being thick-headed about truth is not an advantage.

Third, we have to repeat truth until it changes us.

How many times have you heard something that was true… and you recognized it as important… and you let it go in one ear and out the other?!? A million?!?

Just hearing something doesn’t mean we “own” it. If something is true, we have to repeat it until it changes us.

There are a number of ways we can repeat truth. When I come across a truth that strikes me as very important, I enter it into a computer file where I can review it. I have a set of affirmations – things that have stuck me as especially true and valuable – and I review them almost every day.

However, the most powerful action we can take to repeat truth until it changes us is to memorize important Bible verses so well that we can repeat them without struggling. When memorizing Scripture, it is better to go an inch wide and a mile deep, rather than going a mile wide and an inch deep. Take a few key verses that are important to you and review them until you have them deeply memorized. Once you have them deeply memorized, review and meditate on the verses regularly. It is a powerful step to repeating truth until it changes you.

I’ve created a 15 minute video with some tips on not merely knowing verses from the Bible, but on repeating them until they change you. If you haven’t downloaded it already, you can still get that video for free here: Master the Bible So Well That the Bible Masters You.

Conclusion

We automatically become what we think about. That is the way God created us. That is the way the mind works. Because we live in a media saturated world, and because much of what comes through that media is an assault on biblical values, it is vital that we (1) work hard at making sure that what we believe is true, that we (2) fill our minds with as much truth as we can, and that we (3) review that truth over and over until it changes us.

So, get (or re-watch) your free Master The Bible So Well That the Bible Masters You video, and then memorize and meditate on the MegaVerses.

If you know anyone who you think might enjoy joining us in this series, please forward this blog to them and encourage them to go to www.maxanders.com and sign up for the free video, “Master the Bible So Well That the Bible Masters You”, available there on the home page. This will put them on my regular mailing list and they’ll receive my weekly blog.

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