TRAIN YOUR BRAIN, PRESERVE YOUR SANITY
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 most
important reason to train my brain is because it is 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 a disease like Alzheimer’s, it can often prevent 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.” Either
way the verse is worded, the concept is the same. While I need to train the
brains of my children so that when they are old, they will remember the Bible's
teachings, I also need to train my own brain. I need to use it or lose it.
How many times has the comment been made, “Have they lost
their mind?” This is usually said when a person is 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.
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.” Romans 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. Other
important factors are the movies and TV shows one watches 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 because it will provide the so-called “fun” we think we missed out on in the past or are missing out on in the present. 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, we learn orally, 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 and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” That verse tells us to fix God's words in the minds of our children. Great
care should be taken not to lead them astray. “Matt. 18:6-7 tells us why: “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 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. Because I never got started saying those words, I have no problem avoiding 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.)
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.
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 usually falls into the normal category, no matter how
aggravating he can be. We are also to spread the Good News and to evangelize.
Matthew 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, the same
path as thinking good thoughts, but with opposite consequences. Dominant
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.
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 and spiritually dead.
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 new
again. We are offered a fresh slate on which to write our thoughts. I don’t
mean to make starting new sound easy because often 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, give up the insanity, and collectively you will transform the nation.
So, what’s in your mental library?
Are you storing away information that is trashy or
wholesome? Does your mental library need a good cleaning? If one who has spent the majority
of his/her time focusing on unwholesome thoughts and decides to “clean house,”
that person 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…”
Conclusion:
Train your brain and the minds of your children to be wholesome and do it with all the enthusiasm
and vigor you can muster.
