Suppose Jane is using a camera phone to video Sally preparing
a meal. Sally slices onions, peppers, and mushrooms then puts them in a wok and
stirs the vegetables. If you stopped recording right there and played the video
back, you would see the exact same images that went into the phone, Sally preparing
and cooking a meal. The video doesn’t show Sally dusting furniture, making a bed,
or taking a walk. The device captured and copied what it “saw” and “heard” and
projected it onto the screen.
The camera lens and the audio receiver are similar to our
eyes and ears. The images and sounds we see and hear are caught and then sent to the
recording device in our minds. Trivial thoughts are soon forgotten, but remarkable
or repetitive thoughts are embedded in our hearts where they eventually come
out of our mouths and show up on the screens of our lives.
Children are most impressionable to what they see and
hear, because their innocent minds lack a strong gatekeeper at this young age.
But we as adults can control what we see and hear by being vigilant to what we
allow to enter our eyes and ears.
Having this knowledge is key to controlling our emotions and even our destinies.
Everything we do begins with a thought or command and
then the body responds either positively or negatively to this input. Many images and words
have an immediate effect on how the body reacts: An embarrassing comment causes a shy person to blush.
Viewing or reading porn creates a feeling of misguided arousal. An enlistee in boot camp snaps
to attention at the sergeant’s command. Seeing and helping the needy creates
feelings of fulfillment and joy. All of these responses come forth unbidden
after the thoughts entered the mind.
Thoughts are like seeds that grow into flowers, fruit, or weeds. They follow the same natural
and spiritual laws of sowing and reaping. What goes into our minds via our senses,
especially by way of our eyes and ears, is what will grow and show up in our
lives. If we plant corn we will always, always get corn, not tomatoes. Sally’s
stir-fry video will never show up as an image of her riding a horse. The sights and sounds planted in our minds will eventually project in our lives. As a man thinks, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).
The best way to eliminate negative and detrimental thinking is to renew our minds and fill our hearts with faith ( Romans 12:2, Romans 10:17).
Guard your heart for out of it spring forth the issues
of life (Proverbs 4:23).
