Sunday, October 9, 2011

Day 9 ~ Where is your mind set?

Colossians 3:2 ~ Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (ESV)

Several years ago, my husband and I attended a Weekend to Remember marriage conference. Have you ever been to one? They are excellent and I highly recommend them!

I used to think  marriage conferences were for people whose marriages were in shambles. But after spending a weekend focused on my marriage, I had a change of heart. I now think marriage conferences are best for people whose marriages are just fine.

Because just fine marriages have a nasty habit of falling apart.

Why?

Because we stop putting any effort into them. Everything is okay.

Until one day, it isn't.

Did the problems happen overnight? Of course not.

So what happened?

As I learned at our first conference, there are no static relationships. You are either moving toward oneness or moving away from it. There is no middle ground. Either you put the effort into continuously improving your marriage, or it will erode and without intervention, collapse.

The same is true of our minds.

There is no such thing as a happy medium. Left alone, our minds will return to their default settings. Which, in my case, means I'll be focused on the most important person in my world.

Me.

My attitude, mood, and general outlook on life will be based on how I'm being treated. If I'm being overlooked or overworked then my life is terrible. If I'm being cherished and adored then my life is fabulous.

Your default setting might not look quite as selfish and self-absorbed as mine, but everyone's mind will default to earthly settings.

You are either renewing your mind and setting it on things above, or it is set on things of the earth. There is no middle ground. Either we make a conscious and continuous effort to change our mindset or our minds become deeper entrenched in the things of earth.

This whole renewing thing? It's just like a marriage. It requires regular maintenance.
Every day.
For as long as we live.

As we dive into a new week, we're going to look at specific passages that talk about what we are to set our minds on. I hope you'll join us!

If this is your first visit, we're deep into 31 Days of Renewing. You can see previous posts here.

Related Posts:

  • 31 Days :: Day 22 ~ Need a break? Yesterday, I gave you a challenge to make an effort this weekend to focus on the things that are commendable in the people who populate your world. So I thought we'd take a little break today. I've collected a handful of s… Read More
  • 31 Days :: Day 20 ~ Who's the loveliest of them all? Whatever is lovely . . . think on these things. The Greek word translated as lovely is "prosphiles" and it means "acceptable, pleasing" and has the idea of being "winsome, sweet, gracious, attractive." In classical Greek i… Read More
  • 31 Days :: Day 23 ~ What do they represent? Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about th… Read More
  • 31 Days :: Day 21 ~ You mean I have to practice? Whatever is commendable . . . think on these things. We've been talking for the past several weeks about renewing our minds by choosing to think the way God wants us to think. Philippians 4:8 gives us a list of things we … Read More
  • 31 Days :: Day 24 ~ Need a little tweaking? If there is any excellence . . . think about these things. Phil. 4:8 (ESV) The Greek word for excellence is "arete" and it is most often defined as "virtuous thoughts feelings, actions; moral excellence and purity." … Read More

2 comments:

Vonda Skelton said...

Thank you for your transparency. I've fought with my default setting all my life, and I know it will continue to be a daily battle. We're just like Paul, aren't we?

Lynn Huggins Blackburn said...

Thanks Vonda. I think Paul set the bar high when it comes to transparency. So very glad he did!