In school the kids used to play a game. A piece of paper would be folded up. Names were written in it. Jobs were written in it. Houses and cars were written in it. Colors and numbers were also written on it. Once everything was completed you had a moveable piece of paper which had flaps behind which the names, jobs, houses and cars were written. So one person would work the paper, and one would chose colors and numbers. In the end you would be told who you would marry, what kind of house and car you would have and what kind of job you would work. A fun game which children play.
This is what we do isn’t it? We like the “what ifs” of life. We use our imaginations. Even adults use their imaginations. We let our thoughts run in all sorts of directions. Sometimes this is good. We meditate on the scriptures day and night considering them for our lives (Psalm 1). We consider our mortality and number our days (Psalm 90). We look forward to heaven and seeing the Lord face to face (Revelation 22). Many even use their imaginations and creativity to magnify Christ, think of C.S. Lewis and John Bunyan and many preachers.
There is also the other side. Every lust, every coveting is born out of imagination. Sin is often born in our sinful flesh. Our own minds betray us as we submit ourselves to sinful imagination and thought processes. This is seen in the one viewing pornography. It is seen in the overly jealous husband or wife who is always accusing. It is seen in how we view media even. Many are taken in by half-truths and even outright lies because of how seductive these things are and because of how our train of thought can so quickly go off the rail. It is even seen as we neglect those things mentioned above.
God’s call to us in how we think is this: take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). One thing we must see is that our obedience is inextricably connected to our thinking! The command is to take EVERY thought captive. How pervasive this is. How high a call this is and yet we are so quick to run and discuss and consider everything under the sun. This is not to say that we can’t talk about football or who we might marry. It isn’t that we shouldn’t wrestle with ideas of the state and politics and things like this, we must do these things. We, however, must make first things first. Not just first thing each morning but most important all day, every day.
So I ask this: Do you meditate on the scriptures more than news, social media, your own life or lusts? Are you numbering your days, or do you give little thought to life? How often to you consider the Lord and being with Him eternally? Do your let your imagination run wild or do you focus it on the truths of God’s word? What do you do with your imagination and thoughts Christian?