Another way we can glorify God by reflecting His image to the world is thinking like Him.
We need to be able to identify faulty or wrong thinking, challenge those thoughts, and consciously replace those thoughts with truth.
There is a wonderful book by Robert McGee titled, The Search for Significance (1998, W Publishing Group: Nashville, TN). In it, he addresses the impact our fallen state has had on our ability to think correctly.
Adam and Eve were perfect thinkers, before they sinned. From the report that Adam was able to identify and name every living creature, we can assume that he was a pretty smart guy.
Furthermore, they were both very comfortable and peaceful in their relationships with each other and with God. There were no faulty or negative beliefs in their minds about themselves, the world, or God.
But you know the story. When Satan tempted and they both ate, their thinking was immediately warped. It became very self-centered. No one has had completely accurate beliefs since then (Christ excepted)
Think about this. We are born with physical brokenness. Someone has said we are born dying.
Not only are our bodies born to die, but our thoughts are intrinsically warped and bent toward self-centeredness and sin.
McGee boils down our faulty thoughts into four core false beliefs:
- I must meet certain standards…
- I must be approved of by certain others…
- Those who fail are unworthy of love (including myself) and deserve to be punished.
- I am what I am. I cannot change.
In each case, there is a corresponding Biblical truth that can replace these lies.
- Justification (Rom.5.1)
- Reconciliation (Col. 1.21-22)
- Propitiation (1 John 4.9-11)
- Regeneration (John 3.3-6)
Our task is simple, but difficult. Recognize the lie and replace it with truth.
There are day to day experiences and relationships that are often harmed by our unhealthy thinking. Parents have been known to abuse a small child for crying, believing that the child was crying to “get even” with them. Deaths have even occurred.
Husbands have been known to abuse their wives because of some faulty belief.
I know of a man who was convinced that his wife did not respect him and did not want to be married to him. He accused her of this regularly, until the fiction became a reality.
If I am convinced that I am useless, worthless, stupid, ugly, etc, it won’t be long before I’m convinced that those closest to me think the same things. And eventually, they will.
What does God think about me?
Am I a sinner? Am I selfish and self-centered? Sure. But these qualities exist in every human soul, so what makes me so special that I am beyond God’s loving acceptance, compassion, and friendship?
Next time: How do they all fit together?
