We live in a fallen world caught up in perverse, twisted values. The prevailing “anything goes” mindset around us has no concept of right and wrong. The message we get is that it’s okay to think whatever we want. In this kind of environment, the difference between the world’s way of thinking and God’s way of thinking is like night and day.
It’s critical to understand how important our thought lives are. What we expose ourselves to influences how we think, and how we think determines how we feel. This can explain the anger and strife we see everywhere around us, and the confusion as to where all this negativity comes from. We’re in a spiritual battle; thinking like the world blinds us to the fact that a war is even being fought, but thinking like God opens our spiritual eyes and gives us a fighting chance. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12, NIV).
Most people put more faith in what the world says than what their Bible says; it’s no coincidence that these people struggle through life and wonder why they’re so unhappy. We’re living in the age where self-made “experts” tell us that what we once considered wrong is now right, and what was right is now wrong. The truth is that the morals that God outlined in His Word from the beginning will never change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8, NKJV). Jesus is God’s Word in human form; therefore, to get a handle on what’s happening around us and rise above it, we need to learn to think like Christ.
God loves us very much and wants the best for us. However, He holds us accountable for our actions. The world has chosen to reject Him, at its own peril.
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 5:20-24).
We’re seeing this prophecy coming to pass right now.
The things that worldly philosophies accept as true is plain nonsense to God. To think like Christ, we must begin to renew our minds according to His Word. “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” (Colossians 2:8, NLT). Bringing our belief system into alignment with God’s is a lifetime process, but it gives us victory in a defeated world.
We must never get tricked into wrong-thinking; the stakes are too high. Using God’s Word as our guide helps us avoid the pitfalls others have fallen into. We stay on safe ground when we compare everything we hear and see in the world to what He says.