A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste — you know the phrase, you have heard it. That is because the iconic slogan, dreamt up by the advertising agency Young & Rubicam goes back more than four decades. Launched in 1972 to encourage Americans to support the United Negro College Fund, this campaign has helped raise more than $4.2 billion and has helped (to graduate more than 450,000 minority students) from college or beyond. The slogan, "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste," has remained unchanged for more than three plus decades and has become part of the American vernacular.
This ad has been running through my mind repeatedly over the last several weeks, which is usually about the time that it takes me to realize that God maybe trying to speak something to me. I hope that I am not the only one that experiences that human deficiency. Let us see what He wants to unravel in this teaching.
Proverbs 3:5 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. This verse speaks to the dilemma that everyone who chooses to become a Christian faces; how to trust and how to choose. We all have decisions to make, some major and some minor, and yet this Proverb clearly states that you and I should not always trust our own thinking or reasoning. Most things that fall into our daily routine we seem to give God little consideration, operating predominantly in the flesh or our training or experience; but we reserve the serious things, to God. How many of us find ourselves guilty of this pattern? No need to answer!! JUST CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING VERSE.
Proverbs 12:15 says There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 16:25 says the way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hears counsel is wise. There is only one "end" no matter how many "ways" that man might try. There is your way, there is my way, there could be the “American” way, but there is an end to all of them, which is "death."
The apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians 13:12, "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." This verse indicates that everything concerning salvation is undergoing a process of transformation leading ultimately to sanctification. The cares of this world have their hands all over us, and we must constantly fight them off. We know that if we do not, we will conform to them and their ways. The thought strikes me deeply after reading this verse: “We know so much yet understand so little!!
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick or wicked; Who can understand it? The heart (my heart, your heart) - There is nothing so false and deceitful as the heart of man; deceitful in its evaluations of things, it’s judgement of things, the hopes and promises which it nourishes, the false security that it gives us; unsearchable by others, deceitful with reference even to ourselves, so that neither can a man or woman know their own heart, much less know that of his neighbor. If you find this statement false, then ask yourself why were my motives so selfish? Why was my response so harsh? Why were my judgments wrong? Or I never thought I would find myself in “this situation or circumstance, or scenario” but here I am. And we could agree that our heart has misled us in our past!! In our arrogance, assumptions, and worst of all, our “religiosity,” our hearts can easily lull us into complacency making our thoughts and actions not much different from the world. IN FACT, EVEN WORSE THAN THE WORLD!!
In these previous verses, God is giving us an overview of life, a natural thought process that can be flawed, a warning that circumstances and appearances can be deceiving. There are people who may look good, respectable, discreet, upright, even righteous. There are others who do not look so credible. Yet, in the end, the ones who are not currently respectable may turn out to be the ones who have eternal life, whereas the ones who appear good and civil may be the ones who end up failing. Even our own hearts are capable of deception and failure, yes even a “Christian heart.” Prov 4:23 says Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
The word heart in the Bible refers to “the mind, will and emotions” which brings be back to the title of this article. After taking you through these scriptures that basically say to not trust our thoughts, decisions or even our normal patterns, so what is a Christian to do?? The good news is the Bible tells us that WE have the mind of Christ!! Yes, all believers have undergone a spiritual transformation, a lobotomy of the mind!! We have become new, with a new heart, mind, and spirit. The question is, are we utilizing this transformed mind, are do we just keep it on the back burner still relying on the old man thought process? Sadly, still relying on our old, trusted thought patterns? But we have the mind of Christ!! That is when it hit me “Christ mind would be a terrible thing to waste!!”
Galatians 5:13-15 The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment. For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ!!
The mind of Christ is something that all believers obtain at salvation. Those who have the mind of Christ are able to discern spiritual things that the natural man (or the unbeliever) cannot understand or see. Through the Holy Spirit, God has made us "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4) so that we can have all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him. Think of the human mind as a computer, and the Holy Spirit as a sort of anti-virus program that can be uploaded to the human hard drive. Once the program is uploaded, that "mind" can then affect all the computer's systems, taking out harmful applications and replacing them with good, functional applications. The mind of Christ rewrites our hard drives so that we are capable of understanding, or interfacing with, God Himself. We gain new desires and qualities!! To put it simply, we gain all the qualities and characteristics of Christ himself, exact duplicates. For many Christians, this kind of mindset or paradigm makes them nervous, apprehensive, even feeling sacrilegious. The thought of me “comparing myself to Christ,” how can that be? But if the scripture says that we “are partakers of His divine nature,” then the ability to duplicate Christ in all aspects must be true!! Having the mind of Christ is not something that is reserved only for "the perfect" people. Any and every believer has access to the mind of Christ through faith.
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Why would God give us this scripture if it were something that we could not obtain? Imagine a mind free from depression, fear, stress, guilt, and shame; none of these are present in and with the mind of Christ!! John 8:32, Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
Philippians 2:5-8 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. In this passage, Paul refers to Jesus as the perfect example of what it means for a follower of Christ to think of others or value others’ interests more than their own. Jesus demonstrates what true selfless living looks like in day-to-day life. Paul exhorts us to not be motivated by selfish ambition as we seek to live out the gospel daily, especially in our actions and reactions to others.
A CHRISTLIKE MINDSET
What exactly is Christlike thinking? How would we even know if we were thinking as Christ? I hope to at least get you started on thinking through the aspects below. By all means, this list fails to exhaust the sense of having the mind of Christ; however, it can get us started.
ASPECT ONE: HUMBLE
Jesus is humble. Jesus began with humility. Prior to Jesus coming to earth, all the way to the cross, Jesus valued God and others more than He did Himself and His own agenda. Jesus gave up heaven to come to earth as a person. Not only that, but He also chose to do that as a bondslave. And there is more, He willingly submitted Himself to death – even death on a cross. How? Humility.
ASPECT TWO: THOUGHTFUL
Jesus is thoughtful. Jesus always thought about the glory of God. He did everything in relationship to the will of His father. As His mind is on God the Father, everything else remains in perspective. When people sinfully worked against Him, betrayed Him, as the disciples forsook Him, as He was scorned, beaten, spit upon, and nailed to a cross, the thoughtfulness of the glory of God provided Him a firm ground from which He could respond. He was always looking to reconcile one to God. As followers of Christ, we must remain thoughtful as well – seeking to preach the gospel of reconciliation, as we live in the fear of God and contemplate what brings Him glory.
ASPECT THREE: PURPOSEFUL
Jesus is purposeful. Not only did Jesus live with thoughtfulness, but He is also the perfect example of living life with purpose. Paul challenges all believers to live with one mind, with one purpose, in one accord. Our goal is to live worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ together. We are to strive together, for the gospel of Christ. One purpose – living together pulling the same direction. Jesus demonstrated this for His followers. We should seek to live life with a purpose as well.
ASPECT FOUR: SACRIFICIAL
Jesus is sacrificial. Jesus willingly sacrificed for the Glory of God and in service to all of mankind. He willingly chose to come to earth as a servant. From existing in the form of God to taking on the likeness of mankind, He did not have to grasp the glories of the throne room of God in such a way that is kept Him from choosing to come to earth. We needed Him to come to be our substitute our atonement – the lamb slain – willingly bearing on Himself the wrath of God. He sacrificially became obedient unto death.
ASPECT FIVE: OBEDIENT
Jesus is obedient. Jesus demonstrated what true obedience looks like – even to the point of death. And get this – not just death – but the shameful death on the cross. The perfect Son of God willingly obeyed the will of the Father to become the sinless substitute and take on Himself the wrath of God for the sin of mankind. Friends, it is rare any person is called to die a physical death on behalf of Christ; yet we are to die daily to our will to obey God’s. We too should willingly obey the will of the Father. We seek to live obedient to His desires, for His glory, and for the good of those around us.
ASPECT SIX: PATIENT
Jesus is patient. Do not miss this! He did not live for His own glory on earth. He chose to wait and serve as a bondservant. Jesus suffered under all the same pressures that you and I do. He endured every temptation, and He persevered. He waited on God’s timing. Why? Because the mind of Christ is patient. As followers of Christ, we should have the same mind. We accept and are patient with God’s plan to work out in us, as well as in others.
Conclusion: Many of us deal with difficult issues daily, it is called Life in a fallen world. But as Christians, we have the advantage of having the Holy Spirit in us to provide direction and peace of mind in difficult times. The mind of Christ refers to thinking in a way that is consistent with how Jesus thinks. We have a new purpose that is aligned with His Luke 19:10 and we can see clearly the reality before us that this world is temporal and flawed, and that we are meant for an eternal world. 1 John 2:15-17. Having the mind of Christ gives the ability to understand and know the deep things of God. Furthermore, we cannot simply think as Jesus; we must seek to act as Jesus. As we do think more like Jesus, our behavior will reflect it. In other words, we will change. It is not enough to think alone; we must put these things into practice. Our thinking will produce results. Do not waste the mind that Christ has given you…
Comments