Mind-Jogging

2 Tim. 1: 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind

“Hey! What’s on your mind?” Common question. “Nothing”. Common answer. The real answer is more likely, “nothing important” or “nothing interesting” or “nothing that I feel like telling you”. Sometimes if those thoughts were revealed it would perhaps be embarrassing or otherwise disastrous. We often guard our minds against hateful, lustful or otherwise destructive thoughts, but are not as alert against idle, distracting and non-productive thought.

We have been talking about the awesome potential of the mind and what we can achieve with a bright, disciplined and informed mind. We have also looked at the danger of a bad mind, one that is intent on doing evil. But an idle mind is a terrible thing to have to deal with. It is usually caused by a lack of intellectual ambition. It happens when a person fails to appreciate the power of the mind and the need to develop it.

Many persons are like that. They don’t value education and avoid anything that calls for mental exercise. They read, watch and listen to stuff that is light-weight and doesn’t demand any mental effort. Their conversations, though perhaps pleasant enough, are simply about people or everyday events, empty jokes or made-up stories. This kind of mind does not contribute much to life and spending too much time with such a person is really to waste time.

The mind is a wonderful gift from God and we should appreciate that. Just as it is important to take good care of our physical health, to develop the strength and beauty of the body, it is important to do the same for the mind. Good mental exercise is important for a healthy mind. It will result in a strong mind that can reason well and make wise, intelligent decisions. In addition, just as weeds thrive in a neglected garden, negative thoughts and emotions thrive in an idle mind.

Today, develop the habit of giving your mind good exercise. Tackle difficult problems and situations, create new programmes, generate new ideas. Most importantly, take time to study God’s word, seeking for deeper understanding every day. This is the most effective kind of exercise for developing a fit, strong mind; the kind of mind that glorifies God.

Dear Lord, thank you for giving me a powerful mind. Help me always to exercise it well and keep it strong to do your will, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.