“Oh, up there?” we ask. “I haven’t been up there in ‘Sooo long.’ I’m not even sure what’s up there.” Exactly! Just like the attic of an older home. That’s my point. What’s going on in your mind that you’re unaware of? Are you paying any attention to what you think about most of the time? Are you thinking about good things? Bad things? Godly things? Worldly things? What are you ‘storing in your mind’ that nobody but you ‘sees’?
How long has it been since you’ve ‘cleaned’ up there? ‘Clean’ you say? “Well, I don’t know, it doesn’t seem to be giving me any problems right now.” “Whatever I’m thinking about has little to do with what’s going on with me right now, so it can wait for another day. I’ll look into it, and clean up my thinking some other time. I’ll think about that tomorrow.” Yet, tomorrow comes and goes, as does another tomorrow, and another. Soon habits of negative thinking, set in, until well, worn ruts are created, that aren’t easily removed. Emotions are affected by all that negative thinking, and eventually they take over and cause action. The results are usually as bad as the thinking has been, and often worse. Bad thinking leads to bad behavior. Regardless of what you say, your actions tell everyone what is really going on with you whether you are ready to face it or not. What’s going on in your mind, you will eventually ‘act out’.
The truth is your mind could be harboring all kinds of negative or sinful thoughts and beliefs about yourself, others, and God. Your mind could be hiding a fugitive up there in the attic of your mind, a secret sin only you and God know about, and you’re pretending it’s not there. Occasionally, you entertain it and then forget it’s there. Thinking and believing it will go away on its own.
But, eventually, that fugitive will get hungry and be looking for something to feed on. Soon, you’re unwittingly offering that ‘fugitive’ all it wants, with what you’re allowing in your mind to keep it satisfied, quiet, and hidden. But, watch out, because over time, that fugitive, will become a bully and start ruling your mind and threatening to expose you and your secrets. You may be thinking, well ‘I know my mind could use some cleaning up but who has the time?’ That will take considerable effort. The longer you ignore it, the dirtier it will become. And the more effort and time it will take to clean it up.
Unfortunately, what’s in the attic of your mind becomes gooey and sticky and hard to remove, and it will gradually begin seeping out and running down into other parts of your life, or it may erupt like a volcano, when you least expect it. The only way to avoid that is to get busy and begin some spring cleaning.
Your mind will only be as healthy and as clean as what you allow into it, and what you choose to dwell on in your thinking. As a Librarian, we were taught a valuable principle about retrieving valuable information out of a computer, while helping patrons with their research inquiries. It’s pretty simple, “Garbage In, Garbage Out”. If we put ‘garbage’ into a computer and store that type of information there, we will only get ‘garbage’ back out of it, despite our desire for valuable, useful, or meaningful information. What goes ‘in’, comes back ‘out.
’The bible agrees with this principle, when it encourages us to think in a godly way. Philippians 4: 8 tells us, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” ESV Our thinking isn’t naturally about these things. It takes effort and discipline to create a mind focused on these better things than what our world has to offer us, and what we naturally choose to think about. What we put in our minds really does matter, because it is the basis for what
comes out later on.
If we are careless about what we think about, over time, suddenly, sin has emerged, and we’re wondering, “where did that come from?” We begin doing things we never thought in a million years we would ever do. Sometimes we begin to ruin our own lives simply because we’ve been too lazy to take a closer look at what is going on in our minds, influencing our emotions and our actions.
It really isn’t a mystery at all, that ‘fugitive’, I was talking about in our ‘attic’ is really our old nature, an ‘old man in our attic’ left there from before we became saved. Our old nature wasn’t removed entirely when we accepted Christ, we were given a new nature, sure, but we have to nurture that new nature. We have to grow in the knowledge of God and in obedience to God. We have to cooperate and participate in our spiritual growth or we don’t grow spiritually. We have to participate and practice a spiritual life. It doesn’t just happen all on it’s own.
We have to ‘take off’ the old nature, and ‘put on’ the new nature. Ephesians 4:22b – 24 explains that “…the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Righteousness and holiness are gained gradually over time through our sanctification, both our efforts, and God’s efforts in our lives through the holy spirit of God, in us, to help us learn how to put off our old nature, (worldly thinking and living), and begin living in our new nature (to be more and more like Christ). Godly living, as a result in action develops from godly thinking. Likewise, ungodly living comes out of ungodly thinking.
Romans 12:2 also reminds us “Do not be conformed o this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” If you want to transform your outer life, it begins with your inner life, your inner world, your mind. It requires an investment of time, energy, and the correct input. Thinking about godly things, not worldly things, and not self-centered ambitions. That’s why reading your bible is so important to a godly life. You learn how to live a godly life by learning about that godly life lived by Christ as our example, and applying what you learn as you grow in a relationship with Christ to indeed imitate His life.
That should be your goal as a Christian. To be more and more like Christ.
If you want to be godly, you must put God in your mind, and let him control your mind as well as your life. If you haven’t invited God into this part of yourself, your mind, don’t be surprised when what you see come out of you, in your emotions, choices, and actions, are anything but godly. They won’t be godly because God isn’t a part of that part of your life yet. Your mind is a dusty old attic, and you’ve kept God locked out of that room in your home. Maybe it’s time to let Him in your attic, and let Him clean out what doesn’t belong. Tell that “fugitive’ in your attic it’s time “he leaves” because Christ is “moving in.” ‘Send him packing.’ Send ‘him’ away and tell him to take any of his extra baggage with him. You don’t need it anymore.
Dear One, get busy, spring cleaning in your attic is waiting, Susan