To Encourage You

Romans 8:6 “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”

So often the Bible brings contrasts out in bold relief. For example, Jesus spoke of the broad way that leads to destruction and the narrow gate that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14). Such contrasts: broad – meaning the way most people take, versus narrow, which few people take. And death versus life. But why would more people, in fact many more, take a path that leads to death and not a path that leads to life? It makes no sense, but it’s the truth, for the One who is called “The Truth” told us about it. And He tells us not only that this is, but why this is. It’s because the broad way is easy and the narrow way is hard. You see, it’s always difficult to swim against the tide. Our natural tendency is to believe that if most people think a certain way and most people do a certain thing it must be the OK thing. It must be the way we should go. And not only that, but if someone bucks the trend, they are so often called out or even ridiculed for it, and who in their right mind wants that? Jesus told us that we would even be hated for it and some would be put to death because of it, i.e., if “it” means to follow His way rather than the world’s (Matthew 10:16-25). After all, that’s how they treated Him.

At the heart of all this is what the Bible refers to as a “mindset.” That’s what’s talked about in Romans 8 above. It’s a contrast between two ways, one leading to death, anxiety, heartache and loss, and one leading to life, peace, joy, and all the wonderful things that God has for us. And what are these two mindsets? One is a fleshly mindset, and the other is a spiritual mindset. The fleshly mindset is one that follows the desires and lusts of the flesh. It’s the mind that is set on following after things that look good and feel good, but which may be in conflict with what the Bible says actually is good. It’s the way many people make their decisions in life, but those decisions lead to negative consequences for not only them, but for others in their life. It’s at the root of drug and alcohol addiction, interpersonal conflicts, divorce, war, abortion, and many diseases. At the root of all of these things is a heart set on satisfying the flesh at the expense of the Spirit. It seems so obvious, but it apparently isn’t, for it is most definitely the way of this world.

On the other hand, to be spiritually minded is to set the mind on what the Spirit, i.e., the Holy Spirit, desires. And there is one and only way for this to be possible. One must be born of the Spirit. That’s what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 and that’s what He is telling everyone else, as well. When a person is born of the Spirit and filled with the Spirit, he or she becomes “spiritually-minded” as a result. It’s a brand-new nature that the spirit-filled person receives, and it changes everything. For the first time that person becomes more interested in what the Holy Spirit says to us through the Word of God than what his or her own fleshly desires tell them through their natural senses. It is a heart set on what God wants for us and what He tells us is good for us, rather than on all the other voices, including our own, that tell us just the opposite. It’s a mindset that produces life and peace. And isn’t that what everyone really wants, in the end? At least that’s what many people say. Why would anyone consciously choose death over life or anxiety and depression over peace, unless they were either masochistic or suicidal. Unfortunately, that’s what sin does to us, giving us deceitful and self-destructive desires that, when followed, always curse rather than bless.

Sin – what a polluting influence on our mindset and all that follows from it. May God help us to cleanse our minds with “the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26), for that’s the only hope for anyone, according to the Author of Life.