Discipleship Training I: Living in Lordship

It Starts in Your Head What do you think? There may be no more revelatory question. Even significantly different religions agree on this fundamental point: We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts…. -- Buddha As a man thinks, so is he…. -- Proverbs 23:7 God’s Word places great emphasis on protecting the mind. No wonder; the mind is the door through which the Spirit inspires. Faith, hope, love and the priorities of God all take root there. Properly steadfast minds are promised peace. Evil schemes begin in the mind, too. That’s why, when God evaluates us, He starts with what and how we think. He spurns warped or “double” minds. He knows human concerns can be stumbling blocks. In short, minds matter. They are the seat of joy and despair, love and hate, contentment and greed. Frustrated by these dichotomies and the daily grind of life, Solomon “turned [his] mind to understand, to investigate and search out wisdom and the scheme of things….” Jesus knew only an open mind can understand Scripture and, hence, God’s Plan. He also instructed, “…make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” Beginning the new adventure of living in Lordship requires several decisions. The Bible directs believers to: 1) strip off the old self; 2) be made new in the attitudes of our minds; and 3) put on a new self, like God! In other words, decisively reject old thoughts and ways that grind down, denigrate and separate. Seek and follow new inspiration, embracing creativity and risk. Discover and realize potential. Anyone who has considered such changes already knows the limits of positive thinking and self-help. It can feel like just preparing to fail. Rest assured: living in Lordship, a holistic lifestyle, is far more than right ideas! Holiness is much more than philosophy or theology. “Wholiness,” completeness in every sense of the word, may be a better way to think of all God desires of and for us. But we’re getting the cart ahead of the horse. The Word knows we must envision and intellectually commit to any permanent, personal change before it will happen, both because inertia exists and setbacks happen. We struggle when sanctification is bumpy. Our brains betray us by obsessing over past sins and failures even after God Himself has forgotten and removed them. But what would it mean to first fundamentally see ourselves as God does: beloved; forgiven; gifted; and empowered? For most, the resulting evolution would be profound. This is precisely why the Holy Spirit directs us to change our minds before trying to change our negative habits and other actions. Worldly “wisdom” betrays us here. Most secular authorities claim it’s easier to act one’s way into a new way of thinking than to think one’s way into a new way of acting. However, supporting anecdotes and arguments ignore Scripture, motivation and, most critically, logic. Trying to act before thinking things all the way through did not work well for Adam, Eve, Cain or Pharoah, and it is not likely to work for us. More tellingly, except for certain involuntary responses, it's practically impossible to act without some forethought. Every deliberate act (including deliberate inaction) is definitionally grounded on an initial decision to act (or not act). No matter how well or ill-conceived, the exercise of free will requires intent, a mindful choice. “I just didn’t think” is an overused, disingenuous excuse for ungodly acts and omissions. Thoughts and opinions may be insufficiently reasoned. They may be poorly expressed. Regardless, conflict typically arises not when we fail to think, but when we think wrongly, communicate badly, act selfishly, or otherwise prioritize poorly or differently from others. Decisions based on selfless consideration often seem to be minority opinions. How can we think more like Jesus given our present mind set? The short answer is re-creation, the very opposite of stagnation. Choosing Life To understand a Christian’s re-creation, start where the Bible starts: “In the beginning, God created….” God’s original Creation was neither flawed nor corrupt.