A Terrible Thing to Waste


Mark 12:30 (ESV) And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

I was having a conversation with someone about a frustrating reality in the church.  Christians tend to lose their minds when they follow Christ.  They just switch off their brains.

I don't know why.  
  • I've heard of Christians not work hard because they were too busy witnessing.
  • I've seen parents of Christian Children not worry about Grades and schooling because "God will take care of them."
  • I've seen kids of Christians parents grow up and be completely ill equipped for life "outside" their Christian bubble.
  • I've seen adult Christians gullibly believe the silliest email spam and forwarding it to their friends or posting it on facebook as if it was God's truth.
I get tired of Christians who refuse to love God with their minds. Being a Christian doesn't mean you lost your ability to reason and think.

God gave you a mind to THINK, to REASON, to EXPLORE, to LEARN, to KNOW, to UNDERSTAND.

What we miss from the commandment Jesus quotes in Mark 12 is that Jesus adds the word "mind" from the original Old Testament phrase...

The Old Testament "Shamma" was repeated every morning by faithful Jews from Deuteronomy 6:4-5:
Deuteronomy 6:5 (ESV) You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Jesus, when asked about the greatest commandment, being a Jew quotes Deuteronomy 6:5, but being God in flesh adds, "with all your mind."  I'm not sure why He does it here but I know for sure, Jesus believed the MIND was a terrible thing to waste.  We should too!  After all, we serve the Lord in whom are "hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3

If you are a Christian, then pray, seek God, do works of righteousness, but for the Lord's sake, develop your brain, seek to know, learn, and understand life.  Let your brain become as GOD-loving and GOD-honoring as your heart, soul and strength.

PRAYER:
Father wake up your people in this generation.  We need to realize that you have in you all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  Help us to have a reason ready on our lips for the hope we possess.  Help us Lord to achieve with our minds so that your Name is glorified.  Help me Lord, to think better and wiser than I ever have before.  In Jesus' Name. Amen.


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