Things To Think About

by G. Jarvie, Glasgow | Category: General | Nov 1967

"Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honourable, whatsoever things are lust, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Philippians 4.8).

The disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ must guard his mind, for of all his faculties this is the most important. To be effective servants of Christ we must have a daily renewing of our minds (2 Corinthians 4.16). We must guard our minds in what we allow ourselves to think of, whether it be in the things we read or in the things we see. We live in a world where moral uncleanness is increasing, and this is being fed by books and magazines and newspapers. Some magazines display the delights of sunny shores where near-nude attire is the fashion. Some writers, too, make light of immorality. Generally speaking, God is being forgotten in His own creation.

Recently the writer scanned through an interesting hook describing some of the wonders of life on the earth. It was well illustrated and was very descriptive of many forms of animal, bird and fish life. It also described in some detail how life was thought to have begun and how it had progressed by evolutionary stages to the many complex forms that are seen today. The name of Charles Darwin was mentioned about 240 times, but God, the great Creator of all, was not once mentioned. The hook had evidently been written for young people. Parents should be careful of what their children read, as far as it is in their power to control it. How careful they should be to point out the error of the evolutionary fallacy, that robs God of His glory as Creator!

The apostle Peter writes, "The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore of sound mind, and be sober [watchful] unto prayer" (1 Peter 4.7). We need a sound mind (orderly and wise) as well as a prayerful heart in the service of God. Newspapers and worldly magazines cater mostly for the carnal man. They know little of the things that are to come. And so the Christian must be careful what his mind receives from that source, or his outlook will be affected by it.

What, then, shall we think about? Shall we absorb stories of the world's glamour or of its uncleanness? Will we be better able to reach men and to draw them to Christ if we read all that they read? The mind is the most important faculty we possess. It is more important than sight or hearing. Unless our minds are pure and clear and calm we cannot effectively serve God in His great service. For this reason Satan will endeavour to fill our minds with the things of this world; with its glamour or its uncleanness; with its sorrows or its joys. All are battling for a place in our thoughts.

What magazines and books do we read? This is an important question. We should guard our minds by not admitting to our homes literature of a doubtful character. With our minds we serve the living God. Let us think of the things that are honourable, or venerable - the worthwhile things. Do not let the valuable faculty of the mind be occupied with things that are cheap and tawdry, or else our conversation and our ministry will be of the same kind. Our service cannot rise higher than our thoughts.

Whatever is just. Let us think of that. Let us not harbour thoughts of partiality, or of onesidedness. Let us not favour our friends at the expense of others. And let us think of the things that are pure. Some of the things we see and hear are impure. Let them not dwell in our minds. This will decide for us the books and magazines and newspapers we read. With some of these we must part company because they do not regard purity, which is so important to us as the servants of Christ. It is the pure in heart who see God (Matthew 5.8). It is not possible to be pure in heart if we read much of impure things, or if we see much of them.

Let us think of the things that are lovely, the things that are lovely in character. The things that have love in them. The things that are of God, for God is love. Let us think of these things and let us dwell on the things that are of good report, the gracious things, the things of virtue and of praise, the things that are eternal and worth while. Let us feed our minds with them. As we do so, the Scriptures will become more precious to us and we will taste their sweetness and enjoy the promises therein (2 Peter 1.4). Then from the Scriptures we will be able to bring a satisfying stream that will refresh others.

G. Jarvie, Glasgow | Nov 1967
General