As a Man Thinks

I want to share some verses from Proverbs 18 that underscore the importance of thoughtfulness:

13He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.14The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?15The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.16A man's gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.

The Bible tells us to acquire knowledge, a function of the mind.   And, knowledge of God comes from absorbing His Word into our hearts.   Psalm 119 says that, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!"   A critical step in hiding God's Word in our hearts is to memorize Scripture - and as we think about those verses and the principles contained within, we then meditate on the ways of God so that we may apply His truth in our lives.   And, we develop a confidence in God and our choices are informed by our knowledge of Him - we gain wisdom and learn to live in a manner that pleases Him.

Proverbs 23:7 states this very simple, but profound truth about the power of our minds to shape our identity and our behavior:
7For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

Romans 12:2 also addresses the power of the mind:
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.

On Tuesday, Kirk Cameron, best known to most for his role as Mike Seaver in "Growing Pains" and to many Christians as the lead actor in the movie, "Fireproof", was the guest host on the Glenn Beck TV show and his guest was none other than famed pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson.

Dr. Carson, to me, is consistently insightful, and his relationship with Christ and Christian worldview perspective inform his approach to issues.    He speaks gently, but intelligently.   And, this didn't come by accident.   According to TheBlaze.com, he related to Kirk what contributed to his development of knowledge and skill.

“One of the things that I used to do is, I used to love to memorize things. I memorized poems, memorized Bible verses,” he said. “And other people didn’t know those things, and it began to make me feel that there was something special about me, and that I could learn things.”

He continued: “Even though I [probably] couldn’t learn them better than anybody else, I thought I could. And it makes a very big difference, what you actually think you can do.”

Carson praised his mother, a single mom who only had a third grade education, for never becoming a “victim.” He said she was always asking “What can I do? Is there something I can do to change this situation, or to make it better?”

One of the steps Carson’s mother took was regularly taking her children to the library, having recognized that people who read a lot “had the ability to change the direction of their lives,” Carson said.

In Carson’s estimation, the importance of knowledge and education cannot be underestimated both in terms
of preserving our liberties, and as a factor in shaping the course of one’s life.

The conversation with Dr. Carson reinforced Kirk Cameron's assertions  throughout the program that there are three “levers” that are fundamental in shaping society: education, worldview, and art.

Carson remarked that the average person lives to be about 80 years old, he said, and they can either spend the first 20-25 years of it preparing, or choosing not to.

“If you prepare yourself, you have sixty years to reap the benefits. If you fail to prepare yourself, you have sixty years to suffer the consequences,” he said. “You get to make that choice. Each person gets to make that choice, how they want to program that incredible computer, the brain that God gave us.”

Obviously, Dr. Carson is an example of programming that computer well, and is a credible spokesman on the matter, since he deals in the area of neurosurgery.

Two things come to mind that we can take away from Dr. Carson's comments:   one, is that we do have the choice on what information that we put into our minds.   The doctor was a great memorizer, even as a child.   And, that included memorization of Scripture.   Now, we have to take it further than mere mental assent, but if we hide God's Word in our hearts and then consider how to apply it to our lives, then we can live a productive life for Christ and enjoy a fruitful relationship with Him.   But, memorizing Scripture is a key component, and if we believe the Word of God is living and active, then we can trust that God will use the seed of the Word planted in our hearts to produce fruit for His glory.

The other thing that struck me from these comments is that the doctor said that he believed that he could learn things and that he was special because of his learning ability.  He said that he probably couldn't learn them better than anybody else, but he thought he could - and that made the difference.   He had an elevated view of what he could do because he had expanded his self-perception.   His capability increased simply because he thought that he could accomplish certain endeavors, not just because he downloaded the information in his brain.    The information contributed to the shaping of his identity - he thought that he could do more.    And he has...