The ABCs of Thinking Part 2

 I love these verses that emphasize what, in a nutshell, describes a healthy state of mind:   For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace (Rom 8:6); We have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), ...to be renewed in the spirit of your minds (Eph 4:23); And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7).   

 Its clear from these scriptures that thinking and spirituality are related.   Your spiritual "eyes" are your filter.   After Phil 4:7, Paul tells his readers to dwell on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.   Much easier said than done!   Try watching the ten o'clock news and come away with any information that comes close to pure and lovely. 

The good news is that the spirit does some of the work for us since we can't (e.g. renewing our minds).  We modern folk have more of a challenge being exposed to nonstop bad news and other negative media (primetime TV anyone?), but in the long run we are responsible for how we think.  

Here are some common unhealthy thinking habits:

All-or-nothing thinking - rigid black or white thinking; there's no middle ground; perfectionism
Overgeneralizing - one bad thing leads to negative assumptions about other things; words like always, never, nobody, everyone.   Ex: "No one ever cares about what I have to say."  
Magnifying/minimizing - exaggerating negatives and ignoring positives; everything is a catastrophe
Mind reading - Assuming what others think without asking; leads to resentment
Fortune telling - Worrying/fretting/freaking out; assuming the worst will happen or, if it does, the consequences will be unbearable
Emotional reasoning - Assuming your feelings always accurately represent reality.   Ex: I feel like a loser right now so I must be one.  

These habits can be so entrenched in us that we don't even realize we're doing it.    How often do we stop and think about our thinking?     People struggling with addiction often relapse long after their bodies are drug free because they fall into the same old negative patterns of thought.   

You can be sure that Satan knows how to take advantage of our weaknesses.   James 1:13-15 describes how this happens:  "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

We don't have to go through life forever analyzing ourselves, but if we allow the Holy Spirit to expose our weaknesses we will find freedom.   2 Cor 3:17, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

Adapted from Nelson Binggeli at http://www.nelsonbinggeli.net/NB/CBT-CR.html