"The mind is the window of the heart. If we let our minds constantly dwell in the dark, the heart will feel dark. But if we open the window of our mind to the light, the heart will feel the light." -- John Piper
IT IS easy to assume a dark view of days coming in this new season of our lives. It is easy to wear the lens of pessimism, closing our minds to the light, growing weary and fainthearted as we hear news of new strains of Covid-19 coming to town, and more rapid in its spread. As psychologists and mind experts have noted, "One of the most remarkable capacities of the human mind is the capacity to direct its own attention to something it chooses." We can pause and say to our minds, "Think about this, and not that."
Yes, we can focus our attention on an idea, a picture, a problem or a hope. It is a unique, amazing human power. So what does the Bible say about the windows of our heart? St. Paul writes in the Epistle, Romans 8:5-6, "Those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace."
This is mind blowing, what you set your mind on determines whether the issue is life or death.
Under the pandemic times, as the new decade unravel; many of us have become far too passive in our pursuit for change, wholeness, and peace.
In an era where therapies of many kinds abound, and therapists/counselors advertise their services online, John Piper says "we have fallen into the passive mindset of simply talking through our problems or dealing with our issues or discovering the roots of our brokenness in our family of origin."
How we tune our minds and what pair of glasses we choose to wear, "Our emotions are governed in large measure by what we consider - what we dwell on with our minds," he added.
Have we been neglecting this great weapon in the arsenal of our war against sin? The Bible calls us again and again to use this remarkable gift. Let's take it out and shine it up and put it to use.
Let me restate Piper's admonition, and inscribe it well in our being as we face pandemic times, The mind is the window of the heart. If we let our minds constantly dwell in the dark, the heart will feel dark. But if we open the window of our mind to the light, the heart will feel the light.