Captive Thoughts

“The ancestor of every action is a thought.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

In Psalm 15 (1-2), David writes:

“O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?

Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right

And speaks truth in his heart…”

We know that as Christians looking to Christ’s example, we are called to “walk blamelessly” and do what is right. David here describes the actions of one whose righteousness is recognized by the Lord himself. The individual described in David’s brilliant metaphor will dwell with the Lord on the very same hill in the very same tent! This is a beautiful image of true communion with God, and one we should long for and seek to actuate.

So how do we start? I think that the answer (or at least the beginning of it) is right here in this text. “Who shall dwell with the Lord?” David writes to answer this musing: “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.”

But what does it mean to speak truth in our hearts? Certainly this is an extension of our obedience to the Lord, closely linked as it is with the description of obedience in action verbs (walking blamelessly and doing what is right)—and yet it is a different kind of action. This action occurs before the action. Scripture is telling us that obedience and faith start with what we tell ourselves as we walk through life. Most of us realize that our thoughts translate (either directly or indirectly) into actions. This does not mean, however, that we are to be controlled by our thoughts, powerless to stop them from manifesting in actions. Although modern culture might balk at this position, we are actually NOT doomed to become a product of our upbringing, our culture, or even our own neurochemistry. By God’s grace and power, we are free to be transformed.

“Be angry, and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.

Offer right sacrifices

And put your trust in the Lord” (Psalm 4:4-5)

To many, the very concept of being angry but sinless seems to be a contradiction in terms. Most of us, myself included, have been discouraged by sinful feelings of anger, jealousy, etc. Please don’t hear me advocating for rage and envy—indeed, both of these are sins, and God hates sin. I seek not to cheer sin, but encourage the sinner. Until we reach heaven, we will struggle with sin, but—as scripture teaches—it is possible to struggle with our sinful nature in a way that pleases the Lord.

As he writes to the church at Corinth, Paul urges his readers to take Christian responsibility of thoughts:

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Practically I think these passages tell us to do our best to nip our sin in the proverbial bud. So when you experience a pang of jealousy when your friend gets that promotion, or the heat of anger when that driver cuts you off—don’t ignore it! Deal with it, and quickly! Too often we let the feelings go, maybe because we like to sit in self-pity, or maybe we don’t realize how powerful and dangerous the situation is in which we find ourselves—after all, they’re just feelings, right? WRONG! Rather than give full control to the feeling, recognize it, grab it quickly before it can get loose and turn into a snide remark or a bitter root, and take it immediately to the Lord. And David is wise to remind us to “ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be SILENT” (Psalm 4:4, emphasis mine). When we verbally dwell on our sinful thoughts, we have a tendency to “validate” them to ourselves and hurt others in the process.

God in His perfect wisdom and knowledge knew that we would sin, and that we will continue to do so until our sanctification is complete. In the meantime, according to His gracious provision, we receive His own Spirit, called our “Helper” (John 14:16) and “guide” (John 16:13), in whose power we can choose to become captors rather than captives of our thoughts.

I pray that you will be encouraged today as you put your trust in the Lord!

“And those who know your name put their trust in you,

for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (Psalm 9:10)