We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5, NIV)
I step on the scale with bare feet and squeeze my eyes shut. This is my new morning ritual–stepping from the shower to the scale.
I’ve become a master of balance on this square device, so before I open my eyes, I slide one foot over where the digital numbers will calculate. I like to reveal the numbers slowly. It seems less jarring if I present them in an easy, gentle way.
I open one eye and do the foot move, until the numbers are there solid and clear. Time to shed a few items. I unclasp my locket and pull my earrings free. But the numbers stay the same.
Losing extra pounds is a tough thing. I know that it will take weeks and weeks to remove what settled on my body in December. An extra handful of Chex mix here. A double dip of Peppermint Oreo there (Grant works at an ice cream shop).
A plateful or two of appetizers at a party. Gingerbread cookies. Fudge. Before I knew it, a little indulgence and a few nibbles became a habit. And now the hard role of reversal is mine.
As I begin to press through this issue of zipping my jeans without waging war, it comes to heart that this physical thing is like what happens in my thought life in regard to sin.
If I become careless with my thinking, not-good things can move right in. Maybe it’s just a smidgen of anger. Or a single strand of negative thought.
Maybe I’m coveting or am critical or am holding some other thought that isn’t pleasing to the Lord. It could even be a small, sharp fragment of doubt or fear.
Whatever the issue, the seeds can start small, but if I’m not careful, they sprout and grow, and soon the battle for my mind is a not-so-small deal.
It’s so much easier to wrangle these thoughts when they’re young and take them captive to obey Christ! It’s so much easier to protect my heart if I can reject these thoughts in the beginning, before they take root in my life.
I step off the scale and think about how to shimmy a run into the busy schedule of my day. I wish I’d been more disciplined over the past few weeks. But this experience holds value–especially when applied to my mind and my heart. And as I prepare to begin the day, I lift an earnest prayer:
Lord, help me to guard my thought life in this new year. Help me to be a careful thinker and to release any thought-indulgences, early on, that are not pleasing to you. Amen.
