We continue to explore Philippians 4:8 in relation to our mindset and the transformation thereof. In this post, we will have a look at embodying a mindset of right thinking. Now what does it even mean to think right?
To understand this, we must first understand what thinking right is not. It is not positive affirmation, ignoring things that are red flags, nor things that are based or determined by worldly standards. It is important to know this.
In the same vein, this also means also that there is wrong thinking. Wrong thinking is thinking wrongly, in simple terms. In more detail, wrong thinking is thinking that is not guided by the counsel of God’s word nor by His Spirit. The counsel of God’s word has got principles that allow for right thinking. The books of the Bible when studied as led by the Spirit of God can bring about radical transformation. It requires a sacrifice – of time and effort.
Let’s look at Romans 12:1,2 reads “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your [b]reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. We see here that if we are to embody the counsel of God in our right thinking – which is only an evidence of the Spirit of God in the life of the believer, we must first present ourselves as a living sacrifice. How? In a holy and acceptable way to God – depicting our service and this is only reasonable implying that it is not too much to ask. It is attainable. In other words, it is not too much to ask. What’s more, you have the help of the Holy Spirit. You have no excuse. You only have to decide as an act of your will that you will tread this path. That’s step one. The next thing is to ask the Holy Spirit to do His one single job in your life- which is to help you.
Next, we must not conform to the patterns of this world. This speaks about the systems of the world. The word used in the greek is (aiōni) which refers to the “Age”. This talks about what is trending and our current dispensation with the intent to people-please. In Psalm 1, scripture declares that the man who does not dwell in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners nor sit in the seat of mockers is blessed. In 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul by the Spirit of God says that if you keep bad company, your good manners will be corrupted and gives a guarantee saying God cannot be mocked. Remember, 2 Timothy 3:16 says all scripture is God-breathed or inspired by God and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
Now, a word of caution – All scripture and not some must be used. You don’t take some and leave some of it. If you do, you will realise that you will find yourself in error, most certainly. Embody the whole of scripture and not some.
Having this background in mind, we can now explore what it means to think right. Thinking right, first, has to do with thinking as guided by the Spirit of God – first unlearning the wrong patterns of thinking. Next, have a willing attitude to be guided by the Word of God to think right. There are right ways of thinking but to do this as acceptable to God’s standard, it must be guided by the Spirit of God and the Word of God.
Proverbs 1:8 puts it more bluntly. It says “My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;“. To get to the point where “whatever-is-right” becomes where we stand, we must hear instruction and not forsake the law. The two dimensions of the human race is mentioned. The implication of this is to know how to go about this. The first is to go to your father, to be instructed. The second is to not forsake the law of your mother. They are fathers and mothers for a reason. They hold the rod of authority given by God. Romans 13 articulates this . One key is to discern the one sent to you. The word “your” implies that it is not just anyone. Your assignment is to find the father-figure and mother-figure sent to you. For some, it could be your parents, uncles or aunties while for others, it could be others outside of your family who are more matured in the faith of Christ as you are able to discern guided by counsel. It is your responsibility to find for it is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to find them (cf. Proverbs 25:2). God uses this as well to mature you more and more into Christlikeness.
To think right, give yourself to counsel (cf. Proverbs 23:19). We see in Proverbs 11:14 KJV”Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellers there is safety”. The word used for safety is (ū·ṯə·šū·‘āh) meaning deliverance or salvation. Now it matters what multitude you are found in. Two things: if you find yourself in a corrupt multitude of counsellers, as this is possible – articulated by 1 Corinthians 15:33, you will find yourself wrapped in deceit and comfortably seated. This is what happens with people before they come to the saving knowledge of Christ. Scripture declares in Matthew 4:16 that the people who dwelt in darkness have seen a great light. They dwelt in darkness by reason of agreement until the appearance of the great light, foreign to their company.
The other dimension of this verse is that if you dwell in a company that embodies the word of God, you will be sat in a place that is safe, except that this time, you are in the right company and will not be deceived if you continually give yourself to this company. We see this articulated in Psalm 1.
I say again, that it matters the company you keep. As a responsible believer, you owe it to yourself, the ones you love and the Holy Spirit, the responsibility to check which company you dwell in. 1 John 4:1-3 says to test every spirit to know if they acknowledge Jesus came in the flesh, in other words, acknowledging Jesus’ birth, life, work, death, resurrection and ascension. If you check through history and all the relevant anthropology, etc., you will realise that everything about Jesus’ coming in the flesh is there as well as the evidence. This is a clarion call to test every spirit, including the Spirit of God. And you will know by the fruits of the men through whom these spirit entities find expression here on earth.
To sum it all up, right thinking means giving yourself to counsel, discerning and checking, using the Word of God as a standard, and not forsaking the gathering or fellowship with Christ-centred believers. Thinking requires effort and if you are going to do this, you better make the best use of your time, making the most of it because time waits for no man. Once your thinking aligns with the desires of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, know for certain that you are thinking right. This implies that you need to study the Word of God for yourself and rely on the Holy Spirit to think right.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with us all. Amen.
Inspired To Inspire! 
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