How the Mind Works

Greeting, brothers and sisters:
I pray that God is perfecting your faith in Him by Christ our King.

I would like to share with you a pearl of wisdom revealed to me as I studied the holy scriptures. It is in regard to how the human mind operates and interprets the world around it and how this compares to the mind of God. In I Samuel 16:7, we read of the process of selecting a new king over Israel by God from among the sons of Jesse-the father of David. This verse is key in gaining an insight into the human mind. It reveals what we focus on; and therefore direct our motivations and actions towards. According to this verse man looks at the outward appearances first in making decisions. He considers the physical dimension of a thing or person in this matter first. He first looks at the massiveness of the armies in battle to consider engaging the enemy, the grandeur of the Mansion or house to determine its wealth, the sleekness and style of the new car before purchasing it, or the beauty of the woman to select her for his wife. All these things are perceived by the eyes first, which informs the mind on what to focus on.   The mind then moves our emotions, thoughts, and lips to speak certain words, and our hands and feet to take specific actions towards our focus. The prophet Samuel-who was a man like you and I, saw the height, built, and nobleness of Jesse's sons and was convince that each of them could have been the Lord's anointed. He saw the outward appearance first and drew his conclusion. This happens to us daily also in our technological mass media society, with it's internet, T.V., satellite radio, and movies. They have keyed in on how our minds work and bombard us with images constantly knowing that they will send a certain message to us to act in the way they want us to. Why do you think, they couple a pretty girl and a luxury car together in commercials? Because they know a man will be attracted to both and if they show this image to him often and long enough he will equate having a nice care with getting the pretty girl. But usually what happens is that he ends up in debt because he brought a car he couldn't really afford. We shouldn't let this happen to us. We should follow God's example and go deeper than the surface level appearances. In the verse above, God use Samuels experience to teach him and us a critical lesson in how we should control our own minds by following Him. For he said to Samuel, "the Lord sees not as man sees..." God goes beyond mere physical appearance. He looks at the heart of man; he considers what the thoughts, intentions, feeling, and what the motivation of a man is first, not what he looks like or portrays himself to be. God's mind functions on a higher plane than man. But we are able, according to Christ, to judge righteous judgment and not by appearances only( John7:24). This righteous judgment, which is based on the laws and commandments of God, is able to supersede our initial reaction to the outward world and allow us to examine people and things on a deeper level. Understanding how the mind works is key in helping us avoid errors and temptations that would take us off our course to a holy life in Christ.

Shalam,

May God bless you and Keep you till we meet again

Zarach