Yesterday, we began learning about the acronym SMILE. We learned about S – Sing. Today is M:

M – Mind what you think see, say, hear, and do. (Romans 12:2)

According to Merriam-Webster, to “mind” is “4: to give protective care to; 5: to give heed to attentively in order to obey.” Joyce Meyer said, “Think about what you’re thinking about,” (Battlefield of the Mind).

Does it really matter what we’re thinking about?

Yes!

Thoughts, images, and messages come at us all the time. And while this can be good for many things, just like anything else, what’s meant for good has also been corrupted. God creates – because He can – and Satan corrupts – because he cannot create. All of the sins we’ve committed began as thoughts.

It’s not the thought that deems you an adulterer, murderer, or thief. It’s the second thought, the second look, and the meditation, which lead to the decision, and ultimately the action. Jesus said, “…everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice (enmity of heart) against him shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment…” (Matthew 5:22 AMPC). The second definition of “harbor” is “to hold especially persistently in the mind,” (Merriam-Webster). In other words, when you think maliciously about someone, it’s equal to having already murdered them. Jesus went on to say, “…everyone who so much as looks at a woman with evil desire for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” (Matthew 5:28 AMPC).

Clearly, this isn’t where we want to land, so we need to take a stand.

So prepare your minds for action, be completely sober [in spirit—steadfast, self-disciplined, spiritually and morally alert], ~ 1 Peter 1:13a AMP

Priscilla Shirer recommends doing this by praying for the focus of your mind.

“Focus minimizes distractions, lowering your risk of being blindsided. It keeps you from being preoccupied, from overlooking important facts that would have been readily obvious if you’d only been paying better attention…And focus is the antenna that prayer helps to keep raised and alert, making you keenly aware if somebody’s trying to play you for a fool…
And your enemy’s dead set on…fooling you… He wants you focused on things that are physical and visible instead of where the action really is.”

Fervent

The things we need to focus on – the unseen – are listed in Ephesians 6:12.

Our action step, so we don’t fall prey to Satan’s schemes, takes place in our minds:  

Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. ~ Colossians 3:2 AMP

When the Bible gives us a command, it’s because God knows that we can do it, because He expects us to do it in His power that is at work within us, (Ephesians 3:20). Yesterday we learned that when we turn to Him, we are made new in Jesus. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, “we have the mind of Christ.” If His power is at work within us and we have His mind, we cannot fail when our hearts and minds are stayed on Him. And that’s the key. Now, fix your mind on things above, thereby transforming your life, by the renewing of your mind, “so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you],” (Colossians 3:2; Romans 12:2).