On the Danger of Thinking

       We've often heard someone say, "I was thinking . . ." and heard the joking response, "That's dangerous!"  Thinking can indeed be dangerous, and not just in the tongue-in-cheek manner of, "thinking means you must be planning to trouble me."  We can get rather carried away by our thoughts, which is frightening when we remember that they direct all our actions for good or evil.

       Thought, being swifter than action, is more difficult to control; we can restrict ourselves from acting on thoughts more easily than we can stop thinking them.  For example, reason may impose itself and keep us from striking someone, but the anger and desire to crack bones may remain, along with the attendant ill effects on our bodies, minds, and souls.  Similarly, we may not give outsiders a hint of feelings like hatred and jealousy, but they may exist inside us, and uncurbed, may turn us stubbornly bitter and harsh and begin to negatively affect our relationship with God and other people.  Likewise, dark thoughts of self-hate and shame and hopelessness, if allowed to fester, can lead us to disbelieve or despair of God's grace and may result in self-destructive or homicidal action.  Even when we "act before we think," that action will be based on our long-time habit of thought, which will affect whether we instinctively recoil from a threat or jump to rescue someone in danger, or whether we squeak in surprise or utter a startled curse.  As the good book says, "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45 ESV).

       Our knowledge of right and wrong may not preserve us from dangerous thoughts nor be enough to prompt us to replace our "evil treasure" for "good treasure."  As Paul wrote, "I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing" (Romans 7:18b-19 ESV).  Even if we want to imagine innocuous reasons why someone is late, our minds may summon up morbid images of disaster; even if we want to banish some unclean thought, it may sneak back in and seduce us into dwelling on it; even if we want to concentrate, our minds may stray again and again, which may have inconvenient or even deadly consequences.  The mind can wander down many other dangerous lanes if allowed--revenge, despair, self-righteousness, erroneous worldviews, apostasy--and we may not recognize their danger or wrongness in the same way we recognize the danger of placing our foot on a rotten stairstep or the wrongness of abusing a child.  If left to wander too long, our thoughts may entrench themselves in untruths, convinced the stairstep is safe or the child deserved the abuse--or that it wasn't abuse at all.

        No amount of reasoning and pleading and rebukes from others can affect our thoughts unless we embrace them and change our thinking; as psychologists say, "You have to want to change," or in the words of Solomon, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice" (Proverbs 12:15 ESV).  Thus, "Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you" (Proverbs 9:8 ESV).  I would insert, however, that a fool may still make use of encouragement or rebuke years later, but excessive correction will harm a Christian's witness.


      Wrong thinking can affect not just our action, but also our inaction, for we often use (futile) thinking as a substitute for action we know we need to take.  We'll think and debate and complain for hours--for months--for years--about a troublesome person without confronting him, about our weight without exercising or altering our diet, or about an unchangeable situation without coping with it.  Constant circular thought can make a person self-centered and repetitive, a person who will likely drive away friends who would help if the thinker could only stop thinking and resolve to do something.  Similarly, when it comes to spiritual matters, thinking can get in the way of obedience when we try to understand why or how or what we're to do, whereas obedience may bring the clarity we craved earlier.  The longer we remain inactive, thinking futilely on a problem, the greater the chance that the situation will worsen or we'll lose our chance to act in the most beneficial way--or our chance to act, period. 

       Shall we, then, abandon thinking, since it's so dangerous, and instead blindly obey what we're told?  Unfortunately some people and some governments feel this way, but it is erroneous.  The danger lies in wrong, negative thinking, not in all thoughts.  Even Jesus said, “. . .'You shall love the Lord your God . . . with all your mind . . .'” (Luke 10:27 ESV, bold mine).  Indeed--thinking is necessary for to strengthen our wisdom and ability to act wisely.  We need to not only expand our knowledge through study and understand right thoughts, but also learn to evaluate (and discard!) wrong thoughts.  As the psalmist wrote, "The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps" (Proverbs 14:15 ESV).  Similarly, we need to ". . . test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1 ESV).  We should also occasionally evaluate our own worldviews and actions (remembering, though, that excessive introspection--even for the purpose of becoming more godly--results in self-centeredness; it's better to focus on the metaphorical goal ahead rather than how we ran during the last couple meters).

      Thoughts, as the driving force behind our behaviors and the determiner of our happiness, character, and futures, are incredibly important--and incredibly private.  Parents can discipline children to correct bad behavior but cannot see and discipline their private thoughts.  Thus, guarding the purity of our thinking is something each person must do himself, with the help of the Holy Spirit.




    Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
    Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  (Philippians 4:4-8 ESV)