Thinking is great work and taking the necessary time to think through our thoughts before they become actions is a wise idea. Though thinking more wisely takes time, the time we take is well spent. Taking the time to train our brains sharpens our perception and matures our ponderings which leads us away from evil and toward good.  

    Good and Evil

It’s been said that the distinguishing mark of maturity is keen perception and the ability to differentiate between good and evil. Without a well trained brain, we’ll flounder, falter and fumble our way through life. 

Though it is natural for the physical body to mature through the various growth stages; infancy, toddler hood, young child, teen, young adult and finally adulthood, our thinking process does not naturally mature. Consider the adults you know who still throw temper tantrums, are as stubborn as a two-year-old and as clueless as a teenager. 

Now, think about those adults you know who are wise with their words, listen well and do not jump on the latest philosophical band wagon. How exactly did they get to be so keen? 

 When we weigh, judge, evaluate and assess our thinking long enough and often enough, we become familiar with our personal patterns and the source of our thoughts. 

For instance, worry and fear are two patterns that arise in my thinking, leading me down the pathway of  restlessness. Left unchecked, these thoughts will lead me to thoughtless actions,  and enough energy zinging through me to do something stupid, or say something I’ll later regret. 

Finding the source of such thinking does not take as long as it used to take, but it still takes a little bit of quiet pondering. When I ask myself a few questions, those questions usually take me back to where I began to perseverate with my worry or fear. Once I find where and when the worry or fear originated from, then I can apply some “healing balm” to my thinking. 

The healing balm comes in the form of liberally applied truth by reading scripture, singing a song with scripture based words, or hashing things over with a trusted and mature friend.. 

The things which our minds are tempted to be over run by are common to everyone. But we do not have to give in to the temptation. Instead, God always provides a way out, a means of escape, a landing place or the strength and power to resist and endure. 

Why bother training our brains? With a well trained brain, we will steer clear of evil and aim for good.