Main Scripture: Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life”
We shall be looking at the mind and its relevance as it relates to living a successful Christian life. All life battles are fought, won and lost in the mind. The mind is the battlefield of all life’s conflict. The mind is the intellectual base and center of reasoning of a human being. It is the point where our perception of a thing is formed. It is the place where issues are analyzed and opinion formed. The above scripture admonishes us to keep our mind with all diligence. The word “keep” can be properly substituted with the word guard or protect. Our mind is such a crucial asset to a victorious life. The mind is so vital that it is the main target of Satan’s attacks in man. We look with our eyes but we see with our min. Perceptions that forms and originates in our mind is what shapes a man’s life and determines his state. To illustrate how vital this part of our being is, Paul in Ephesians 6:16 states “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” The shield is a protective armour of a soldier. It is used mostly to protect the front part of the human body especially the chest in battle. The fiery darts ore spiritual arrows of evil thoughts sent in by the devil into our mind. They are subtle satanic seeds that mature into sin that leads to destruction. The scripture says in 1 Peter 1:13a “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober …” In other words we are advised to be at alert and tighten our belt in preparedness against the attack of the adversary. The enemy cannot reach you except through your mind. The moment Satan captures your mind he has gotten you and takes you captive – 2 Cor. 4:4 “whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
Through the years that we lived outside of Christ our minds has been seriously bombarded with negative values and thought system. This occurred through associations, experiences, interactions, poor value system and societal decadence. Our perception was dominated by negative orientation which consequently rendered the product of our mind very defective. This is what Romans 8:6a referred to as been carnally minded -” For to be carnally minded is death…....” In Romans 7: 14-15 Paul laments the conflict of the flesh and the soul. When carnal thoughts dominate our mind it results in sin. Out of the mind proceed evil thoughts which manifest in the physical through the flesh. Matt. 15:18-19. “But those things which proceed out of the mouth came from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies”
It is our spirit man that came in contact with the Holy Spirit which resulted in a regeneration, rebirth and instant sanctification. However the soul does not have such an instant transformation. The soul can be likened to a white clothes soaked in a red substance. It requires heavy application of bleach and continuous washing to bring it back to its original white colour. The bleach is the word of God.
The word of God in Matt. 8:6b says “…………to be spiritually minded is life and peace”. As part of redemption package our mind can be worked on to become spiritually minded instead of been carnally minded. There is a spiritualizing of the mind that makes the abundant life that our Saviour Jesus Christ came to offer us a reality. This is why it is imperative to guard our mind in order to run our Christian race successfully. The NEB translates Proverb 4: 23 in this manner “Guard your heart more than any treasure, for it is the source of all life”.