We’ve all heard the old adage ‘you are what you eat’, but have you ever stopped to think about what that really means? Simply, healthy eating is the key to your physical health. What about your spiritual and mental health, of which scripture greatly concerns itself?
Proverbs 23:7 says about a person, “for as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” In other words ‘you are what you THINK”. The mystery and power of the mind and heart are still beginning to be understood by ‘modern science’. And for all of the spin the modern scientists and psychologists put on mental and spiritual health, one of the big areas where authors spend their time is on self-help books, specifically in the are of “the power of positive thinking”. If you run an Internet search on Startpage for “the power of positive thinking”, you net over 7.6 million hits. Google returns over 8 million hits, while Amazon returns a measly 679 options for a search of books with this title. The truth is that this is not a NEW concept, but rather an ancient, biblical concept that has been slightly distorted by it’s secularization.
As you think in your heart, so you are. Solomon understood this centuries ago. You are what you think. For this reason he urges that you should “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
It is not simply thinking about white fluffy bunny rabbits hoping through a bed of pink roses that scripture encourages us to think about. Rather Paul the Apostle says that if we want to rid ourselves of anxiety, finding the peace of God, that “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8). To meditate is to think about something, over and over again. Want God’s peace? Think about true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous, praiseworthy things. Think about Jesus. Think about His love, His mercy, His purity, His goodness, His life.
Let us put aside negative thoughts and the lies of Satan, which bring about worry, fear and anxiety. Let us think about the things of God, so that we may put on the mind of Christ. Let us remember the Jesus prayer, seeking to pray without ceasing, remembering the name that is above every name. You are created in the image of God, according to His likeness. Want to become more like God? Spend a bit of time today thinking about Him. Afterall, you are what you think.
