You have heard, “Mind over Matter’. Meh; may or may not be true. I do know Matters of the Mind Matter. The science of Psychology, in which I majored in College, is devoted to study of thinking and behavior. One influences the other. Get this: in our nation, over a ten year period, the number of treated mental illness cases grew faster than the average number for all health treatments. (Kaiser Family Foundation). You could say, “We’re losing our minds.”
I best get back to the Bible. In Philippians 1, Paul is writing from prison in Rome. Upon subsequent incarceration in Rome, we know that Paul was ultimately executed. In this passage he shows us how to keep our heads when we’re about to lose it (literally). Pay attention: you’re gonna need this someday. In verse 20 He exclaims dramatically, “whether by life or by death, Christ will be exalted in my body.” He crescendos, “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain!”
Dissect his discourse to find two firm pillars for sound thinking leading to solid living (and sanguine dying). Christ was his Preoccupation and Christ was his Occupation. First, consider Christ as his Preoccupation. In the midst of clear and present peril, he has Jesus on the brain. It consumes his thinking. This is the same guy who wrote to Corinthians, “we take every thought captive for Christ”. Christ had his attention and affection. E. Stanley Jones (who also attended my University a century before me, and from whom I got inspiration to sign my signature as N. Stan Hankins…) quipped, “Whatever gets your attention; gets you.” Jesus said, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Thus: where is your mind? Gutter or God? Stuff or Savior? Trivial or eternal? A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Secondly, notice Christ was his Occupation. In verse 21 he employs categorical terms, “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” Bottom line: he is all about Jesus. Once the Lord has gained his attention and affection, Christ got his action. His every day all day agenda was Jesus. He is determined to make each situation a platform to exert eternal influence by appropriately showing and sharing the Savior. That friends, is priority, passion, and purpose. Living for Christ offers the ultimate in significance. How ‘bout you? A life is an even more terrible thing to waste.
In the final analysis, God’s Word says much about minds. In Christ, all of it affirmative. I’m still dubious about Mind over Matter, but I am dead serious about ‘The Mind of the Master’ !
