Bible Text: Acts 17:29 | Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone–an image made by man’s design and skill. Acts 17:29
Wasn’t it Auguste Rodin, the French sculptor, who gave the world “The Thinker!”–etched in marble in deep, pensive thought? We think of the college prof with his baggy pants, shineless shoes, and styleless clothes as the deep thinker who just isn’t in step with the times. Or we picture Einstein with his desk piled high with papers, his office looking like a typhoon had just come through, with thick horn-rimmed glasses peering deep into space. He’s deep in thought. It’s no wonder the average person would just as soon leave this business of thinking to the professionals. Let somebody else do our thinking, we often reason. And we suffer because of it.
Someone once said that most people think they think, but the reality is that most people would rather die than think. The thinking is done by fewer people than you imagine.
One of the reasons we don’t do much thinking today is that we don’t have time for it. Activities push us harder and harder. The average person takes on 10% more responsibilities each year than the previous year. No wonder we grow tired, weary with the routine, and burn out. There isn’t much to stimulate your thinking, either. Most television programming is a bland diet of stuff geared to the intellectual level of a third grade youngster. The few programs with adult level content are quickly removed and never make it past the first season. We don’t like to think, so we go through life collecting years toward retirement, punching the time card, getting home late, plopping down in front of the TV or wasting away our hours in nonsense until it’s time for bed. Like the message on the T-Shirt, “Life is hard; then we die!” “Morbid!” you cry, and I agree. Then think about it and do something. Like what?
First–shut off your TV. It is the greatest single challenge that exists today to your brain. You may go through withdrawal. It takes time for the Novocain to wear off, but eventually it will. Next guideline: Get alone in a quiet place. Begin by making a list of your blessings, perhaps your assets, the good things God has given to you. Then make a list of pressing problems or items that you need to think about.
Challenge your position with some “what if’s”… Like, “What if I quit what I’m doing right now? What would I really want to do?” Ask yourself, “Is this all there is to life? What am I missing?”
Stimulate your thinking with the challenge of some good books. Biographies are always great! You might even try a dose of deeper stuff like Science Digest magazine or–are you ready for this–some history. Dr. Eric Bienstock, whose specialty has been to stimulate people to think, writes, “…the person who likes to think and sees life as a challenge will start reading on his own and discover that history is really about people: their lives, decisions, thoughts and problem-solving.” Start reading your Bible and discover how God met men and women at the point of their deepest need.
Start thinking about your future and what God has for you! The tremendous brain which God gave you is horribly unemployed and poorly used, but you will be amazed how quickly it will tune up and start functioning. Take charge. Think. Write. Read. Ask questions. Ponder. Listen. Long ago God spoke about the turbulence of a changing world and said, “Be still and know that I am God.” That word, “be still” means “be quiet and listen…” It is still God’s direction for you today. The benefits of thinking far outweigh its cost. Try it. You will like it
Resource reading: Psalm 46
