TRAIN YOUR BRAIN, SAVE YOUR FAMILY
Training your brain is as important as training your body. I have to be very protective of my mind because Alzheimer’s runs in the family. So, I have put a lot of thought into how best to train my brain. The more important reason to control my thoughts is because they are in a constant battle between good and evil, and if I am going to win out over evil, my brain must remain in a state of constant training.
The Bible has a lot to say about training your brain, and though the Bible cannot prevent Alzheimer’s, it can often prevent self imposed mental illness and help you get your brain back on track. Training your brain and the brains of your children can prevent death and disease. It will help you prosper, improve your relationships and, most importantly, God will delight in blessing you.
I know it isn’t right to misquote Bible verses or use them out of context, but I have taken an Old Testament verse (Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Prov. 22:6), revised it some, and made it my motto. It goes like this: “Train your brain in the way it should go, and when you are old, it will not depart from you.”
"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deut. 11:18-19) In this way we are training the brains of our children and our own brains. So while I need to train the brains of my children so that when they are old they will remember the Lord's teachings, I also need to train my own mind. I need to use it properly or lose it.
Addictions can lead to mental illness. When a person is addicted to a drug, alcohol, or pornography, Satan's workers will keep that person focused on the source of their addiction and not on things that matter. After a while that way of thinking becomes their normal. Family is ignored and the person loses himself. If he is wrapped up in pornography, he is living in a dream world and is not in touch with reality. Reality becomes warped in his mind. His perspective is out in left field. His brain cells are firing in the wrong direction. His logic is skewed.
How many times has the comment been made, “Have they lost their mind?” This is usually said when a person has committed a sin or has done something illogical and detrimental to himself and/or others. Other comments include “His/her mind is warped,” “He/She is plumb crazy,” or “No one in their right mind would do that.” When any one of those statements is made, it is usually because a person has ceased to condition their brain to keep it mentally fit. An unconditioned brain leads to mental and spiritual illness that becomes noticeable to others.
How best can the brain be trained? Scripture answers this question. The first verse that comes to mind is “Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” Rom. 12:2 says “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
I Timothy 4:7b-8 says, “…rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Training yourself to be godly can only be done by training your brain. This involves putting healthy thoughts and information into it and keeping out evil thoughts and useless information.
The best way to train your brain is to study the Bible, listen to sermons, read literature that is consistent with Bible teaching, and read books that set a good example of how one is to live nobly. Things that are detrimental to a person's brain are the movies and TV shows one watches, books one reads, and the music one listens to. The company a person keeps also plays a role in what one allows to be planted in their brain. 1 Cor. 15:33 says, “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character."
The language and comments of close cohorts are going from their brains into yours. It’s the equivalent of second-hand smoke. Over a period of time, you develop the same “sicknesses” as the company you keep. In this case, they are mental sicknesses. If your peers or loved ones engage in wrongful thinking, they can lead you down a path that will lead to drug-related illnesses or to sexual diseases, which could lead to death.
Satan is always messing with our minds. He encourages us to sin by convincing us it will provide the so-called “fun” we missed out on in the past. He reminds us of our failings, our sins, and negative events in our past (while under his influence). He tries to convince us that these are good reasons for us to cloud our brains with substances such as booze and drugs. The Bible tells us to “forget about the past…” To use the language of today’s counselors, don’t “play the tape” over and over. No rewinding. Kick the devil out of your brain, whether he is sitting on the throne or crouching in the corners. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Train Your Brains, Save the Nation
Deuteronomy 11:18-19 says, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow--to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways and to hold fast to him--then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.” That’s a powerful promise. By training our brains and the brains of our children, collectively we can drive out nations larger and stronger than ours. But then who is larger and stronger than our nation? Does this promise not apply to other nations? If we fail to train our brains, they could drive us out.
We are to write the words on our doorframes and gates. We are supposed to make God’s Word our source of conversation wherever we are. We are to fix His words in our minds and hearts. (Whatever is in our heart comes from our mind, travels out of our mouths and comes alive in our actions.) These scriptures suggest that we learn through many different ways: we learn visually and audibly, we learn by repetition, and we learn by developing good habits. The question is, what do we choose to learn, and what do we choose to teach our children.
Train the Brains of Children
I refer back to the verse, “Train up a child in the way he should go…” The previous verse I just quoted tells us how to do that. Great care should be taken not to lead them astray. One of the harshest warnings in the Bible is “Matt. 18:6-7 which says, “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!” Take care in the way you train their brains.
Another way we train children is by example. I recently showed my granddaughter a large bruise I got on my arm when I ran full-force into something. Her first question was, “And what did you say?” (I knew what she was getting at.) I told her that I probably only said “Ouch!” because I never cuss. I let her know those words don’t even come to my mind. I have no problem avoiding them because I never started saying them. I have trained my brain never to think of them. (I was greatly relieved I could say that about this particular situation. We each have our own strengths and weaknesses. I have to battle other thoughts that try to become regular visitors and would make a nest in my brain if I would let them.) I would rather have vomit spew out of my mouth than a cuss word.
On a more serious note, when a child is molested, certain feelings and thoughts are awakened that were not due to be awakened until much later in life. Hormones and body chemicals are released in the child’s body at the time of the act and the child has to deal with adult matters at a time in their lives when their brains and bodies are not fully formed or equipped to handle the situation. Their thinking becomes distorted and even under the best of circumstances, never fully heals. Sex happens more so in the brain than any other body part. The scars are permanent. Woe to the men who mess up the minds and bodies of a child, forever changing their lives in a negative way. Those who live with those scars must train their brains to never look back and to not let the actions of another perpetrated on them define the rest of their lives. Because of their bad experience, they will be more sensitive to others who are hurting. They can make the world a better place by helping others who have been through the same experience.
Train Others
Switching to another brain training situation that is far less ugly, we women are commanded to “…train the younger women to love.” That suggests they don’t always have a mind to do so. We older women have figured out that men and women differ in the ways they think and respond. We know what is normal and what is not. We can oftentimes help young women sort this all out and see that their mate falls into the normal category, no matter how aggravating he can be. We are also to spread the Good News and to evangelize. Matt. 28:19 says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Teaching is synonymous with training, and training is done in the brain, just as is done in a school situation.
Consequences of Letting Satan Train Your Brain
The computer-related motto “Garbage In, Garbage Out” also applies to the brain. Whatever goes into your brain is going to travel to your heart and come out of your mouth and manifest itself in your actions. Predominant attention to sports gives birth to a sports addict who has poor family relationships. An excessive amount of attention spent chasing money makes money your master and also develops vices such as greed, oppression, failed relationships, etc. Pornography leads to sexual addictions and sometimes illegal manifestations of the acts portrayed by the reader(s).
A man who looks at pornography can easily be hooked; it is highly addictive. He may have control over it in the beginning, but it will eventually take over his mind, holding captive every thought, creating mental illness. It will become his master. He will live in a fantasy world, and will eventually be unable to distinguish between reality and the fantasy. Because his focus is elsewhere, he will let many other things slide. His work habits will suffer, as will his family relationships. His view of women will be abnormal. His relationship with God will eventually be cast to the wind. When he is no longer able to process thoughts properly, when his logic is warped, when he cannot control his own actions, and when he is unable to focus on what is important, he will be mentally ill.
Those caught in the throes of any sin can develop mental illness. Sin leads to guilt and depression. Depression causes a loss of interest in things that were once important. It produces an excessive amount of negative thoughts. It can even lead to suicide.
Here’s the Good News. Fortunately for all of us, true repentance can set us free. Baptism can wash our sins away. We can start over again. We are offered a fresh slate on which to write our thoughts. I don’t mean to make that sound easy because usually it is not. But it is an opportunity made available to us by Christ’s death on the cross, an opportunity that gives us hope and joy once again. It brings peace that passes understanding. On a larger scale, when a nation repents and changes its thinking, the action can save the nation. So, be transformed by the renewing of your minds and collectively you will transform the nation.
So, what’s in your mental library? Is it trashy or wholesome? Does the library need a good cleaning? One who has spent the majority of his/her time focusing on unwholesome thoughts and decides to “clean house” should take care to fill the house with wholesome thoughts or the end result could be worse. Luke 11:24 says, "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first." What person wants an evil spirit taking up residence in his brain, little own seven of them. What a pitiable existence when the choices one makes are controlled by an evil spirit and the person cannot make healthy decisions without a major battle going on in his/her brain. I Peter 4:7a says, “Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled…”
Train your brain to be wholesome and do it with enthusiasm, vigor, and great caution.
Becky Wall
