As a Man Thinks

"Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man,

Though my mind could think I still was a mad man,

I hear the voices when I'm dreamin', I can hear them say…."

Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas ©1976

Browsing the Internet, I came across the most stunning quote/question: "If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would that person be your friend?"

I've realized for some time that I tend to be my harshest critic—I think most of us tend to be—but coming across this quote gave me pause, especially since my initial answer was "not bloody long!" One of my dearest friends is likely laughing if she reads this blog because she is constantly having to remind me to stop "tearing yourself down." It's as if I don't even realize sometimes the damaging words I say or even think about myself, yet much like my friend, I am quick to point out when others say mean things about themselves.

Why do we say things about ourselves that we would never accept from a friend, or an enemy for that matter? Are we trying to be humble? Or just being "real"? And how do the things that we say about ourselves inform our decisions, our relationships, our lives?

"...Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34)

For over a week now I've been hearing these words in my spirit: "Discipline your thoughts." And suddenly, I get it. Throughout my lifetime, I've accepted many thoughts/words spoken to or about me without any discernment as to whether they were true or false, life-giving or life-destroying. They've become so much a part of my consciousness that I speak them to myself, shaping my reality for better or worse.

As a social science major, I can confirm that psychologists have supported this truth for years. And yet long before modern theories of self-fulfilling prophecy and cognitive dissonance or New Age ideology or the "Little Engine That Could," Solomon, who's wisdom came directly from God, wrote in Proverbs that as "a man thinks, so is he." I've read this verse many times. Some seeds take a really long time to germinate, but grow and blossom they do.

Lord, help me to lay aside every thought about me that is contrary to what you say about me.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer." - Psalm 19:14