Thinking Our Way to Success
Colossians 3:5-10
Thinking God’s way does not come easily to us because it is often the opposite of our world’s perspective. The world says, “Stand up and fight for your rights. Do not let anyone push you around.” But Jesus teaches that it is the merciful, the meek, and the peacemakers who are successful in God’s kingdom. (Matthew 5:5-9) The world holds material prosperity and personal comfort as measures of success. Scripture states that we are successful when we become more like Jesus and follow God’s plan.
As we learned yesterday, success starts with our thinking. Picture your mind to be like a mini-computer continuously taking in information and operating as “command central,” directing your attitudes and actions. Your mind tells you how to respond to people and situations, and whether to persist or give up. It identifies what is important based on the values and priorities stored in it.
Our responsibility as Christ-followers is to feed our minds with a steady diet of God’s Word. Only biblical truth can counter the continuous stream of ungodly data that enters our thinking. Another responsibility is to screen what we allow to enter our minds. The Word gives us the standard by which to evaluate the acceptability of ideas and attitudes we encounter. (Philippians 4:8)
By choosing to meditate on Scripture, applying it to our lives, and following God’s standard for our thinking, we will live in a way that pleases God. We will become the people He planned us to be and accomplish His purposes for us. Now that is real success!
Daily Devotions with Dr. Charles Stanlley, InTouch Ministries