discipline of the mind

Minds and computers are very similar. The biggest difference is that our minds are God-made, and computers are man-made (and only man-made because God made the mind). Minds and computers both have processes. We could even go so far as to say that they both have task managers. Seriously. If you want to check this on your computer, just press Ctrl/Alt/Delete. Click the Processes tab, and you'll see where all your computer's energy is being channeled.

A few years ago, when I thought I knew a lot about computers, I happened to see the CPU (Central Processing Unit) numbers going crazy on my computer. My initial thought was, "I don't recognize that image name. Why is that taking so much of my computer's CPUs?" So I zapped it. By the way, removing unrecognizable programs on man-made computers can sometimes be dangerous, especially when you truly don't know a thing about computers. We had to get a new computer.

This morning I was wondering how many CPUs my brain allotted for God thoughts.

Holy Habits, my latest book selection, challenges us to discipline our mind. Here is an excerpt that made me laugh...only because it described my thoughts exactly:

I broke the day into fifteen-minute segments and used a timer to remind myself to make a note of what I had done and thought during that period. I was appalled by what I thought. I would hear a siren while vacuuming the house before Cal came home from work and would immediately wonder if he had been in an accident and was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. What would I do if he were killed? How could I work with small children to care for? Who would watch them? Before long, I had worked myself up to a panic about how I would cope without Cal. By the time he walked in the door, I had his funeral planned and even knew what I would wear to it! . . . . Planning a funeral all day takes a lot out of you! . . . . My mind was undisciplined in spite of the fact that I had invited the great and holy Yahweh into my life.

I STEW and RANT and RAVE in my mind with no discipline whatsoever. Many of the thoughts are trivial and meaningless, just like Mimi Wilson's above.

Seriously, how many CPUs are running toward God throughout the day? I'm not sure I'm ready to set the timer every 15 minutes to re-evaluate my thought processes, because I know I'd be appalled - more so than Mimi was. At least I could press my mind's Ctrl/Alt/Delete just a few more times during the day to reassess whether I'm following God's standard or not. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8