What Were They Thinking?
The thoughts of the righteous are right, but the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. – Proverbs 12:5.
The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord. – Proverbs 15:26.
We have to wonder sometimes what people are thinking like Bob Bowling, who while practicing his quick draw on a snowman shot himself in the thigh. Then there is Paul Dimoff, who rigged a booby-trapped shotgun to fire at any burglars entering his home. But somehow it was Dimoff, who was accidentally shot in the chest on New Year’s morning at 2:00 A.M. Juan Manuel Lopez also shot himself. Juan was trying to impress and demonstrate his manliness in front of a girl by firing his gun toward the floor of her apartment. Juan shot himself in the foot!
Involvement in evil and wickedness to any degree warps our minds and even our thoughts. In Titus 1:15 we are told, “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” When our thoughts are wrong our actions reveal the true nature of our character. We may say we know God but when every action we take continually reeks of evil the truth of the matter is revealed.
Contrast the thoughts of the evil person with the thoughts of the righteous. As the writer of Proverbs says, “The thoughts of the righteous are right.” With right thinking comes right actions and words. Jesus says, “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 (Luke 6:45).” Our thoughts often result in actions, which are sometimes good and sometimes bad. However, if our conscience has been corrupted our actions will always be influenced by evil.
To change our pattern of thinking we must begin with the basics. The very most important change that we can make is to receive Jesus as our Savior and be born again because it will radically change everything in our lives (2 Corinthians 5:17). Then we must take advantage of the resources of God found in Christ (Philippians 4:19). To think right we must begin to think about good things and not bad things (Philippians 4:8). And there is nothing more good and excellent than God’s Holy Word. Renew your mind through reading, memorizing, and meditating upon God’s Word (Romans 12:2).
When your thoughts are right you won’t be shooting yourself in the foot anymore.
(Our thoughts often result in actions, which are sometimes good and sometimes bad.)