Christian Living
A sound mind; what does this mean?
The mind is the part of a person that deals with reasoning, intellect, emotions and feelings. A synonym frequently used for the mind is the brain. However, some teachers, especially theologians argue that the brain cannot be interchangeably used for the mind as the former is a physical thing while the later is not.
God created man as a perfectly rational being; with the capacity to think, reason and understand himself and others. In Genesis 2:19-20, we see Adam successfully naming every beast of the field and every bird of the air created by God. That is rational thinking in operation. However, following the fall of man and the introduction of sin into the human race, the mind acquired some degree of perversion, corruption and distortion.
According to Prophet Jeremiah, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV
Expressions of a mind that is not sound
Science teaches that an intensively damaged brain becomes incapacitated. One way brain damage is expressed is as irrational behavior. In medical practice, people with incapacitated brains can be grouped as mental cases. One of the first expressions of a corrupted mind form in the Bible is found in Genesis chapter 4.
“And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord . Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”
Genesis 4:3-8 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/gen.4.8.NKJV
The words in bold (respect, angry, accepted, desire, and kill), are in one way or the other linked to the mind. It therefore seems that Cain’s reaction to Abel was connected to issues of the emotions, feelings and thoughts. He felt unaccepted, unloved and belittled and as a result yielded to the evil desires and prompting.
Also worthy of note is God’s warning to Abel in the above scripture;
“….And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it”
From this scripture, we can safely say that the end result of a distorted mind is sin and in Cain’s case this was expressed as murder/killing. So an unsound mind can lead someone to kill. We also see, that any form of killing (of oneself or another) is sin.
Finally of note, is God’s advice to Cain to rule over the desire to kill, which presupposes that Cain could have stopped himself from hurting his brother.
Why am I going through this detail? Because there is a general assumption that some people lack control over their minds. I beg to differ and to take sides with God by saying people (especially) Christians have control over their minds.
What happened with sin?
Sin brought spiritual death and sin can obviously lead someone to commit physical death (1st Corinthians 15:21-22). The good news is that in Christ Jesus, sin and spiritual death were dealt with (Romans 5:17).
How to live in and enjoy a sound mind
Unlike Cain, a Christian has a new spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17) and can therefore determine what happens in his mind. He can rule over his mind by consistently feeding his spirit with the Word, that way his spirit has dominance over his mind. He can determine his thoughts (Philippians 4:8), and he can control how he reacts to his feelings (1 Corinthians 9:27).
In addition, regular confessions of the truth of God’s Word is essential. I love the following scriptures;
“We received the Spirit that is from God, not the spirit of the world. We received God’s Spirit so that we can know all that God has given us.”
1 Corinthians 2:12 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/1co.2.12.ERV
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”
Philippians 2:5 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/php.2.5.NKJV
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”.
II Timothy 1:7 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/2ti.1.7.NKJV
“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord”
Isaiah 11:2 NKJV.
Confession
Halleluyah, I have the Spirit of God. It is not the spirit of fear but of love, power and of a sound mind. I have the mind of Christ. I operate fully by the Spirit of The Lord; the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and the of the fear of the Lord. Hallelujah!
I did a blog series on The Mind of Christ months ago. I encourage you to read through.
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.“
Philippians 4:8 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/php.4.8.NKJV
Amen!
