When we think about the mistakes that we’ve made, we can realise that often it was our thinking at the time that caused them. We need to learn to keep challenging our thinking. The Bible says: Let the wise listen and add to their learning.’ So how do we do that? We need to learn to appreciate how others think and continually expose ourselves to people who think differently from us. We’ll tend to think like the people we spend the most time with. When we spend time with people who think outside the box, we’re more likely to be open to new ideas. Any time we find a way of thinking that works, our greatest temptation is to rely on it repeatedly – even if it doesn’t work in new situations. Holding on to a good tradition is a good thing, but we need to remember that not every tradition is a good idea for the future. When we cling to what’s already in place, we resist change. That’s why it’s important for us to challenge our own thinking. If we’re too attached to how things are done now, nothing will change for the better. We also need to saturate our mind with God’s truth, by spending time reading our Bible’s. The more we understand God’s Word, the easier it’ll be to change our thoughts to line up with it. The Bible says: ‘Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV). We need to become aware of our wrong-thinking, and change it to be in line with God’s Word. Changing our thoughts isn’t easy, especially if we’ve thought that way for a long time, but if we want to change how we live, we need to start replacing our thoughts with godly ones. 

What Now?

Try writing down a few of your strongest thoughts about yourself today. Put a tick next to the ones which line up with what God says about you. For any that don’t have a tick, find a Bible verse which shows you the truth.