“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
II Timothy 1:7
God desires for us to have a sound mind. He wants us to always be thinking clearly. I could put it this way; God wants us to be sane! I see the news today, and so often I want to say to people; “Are you nuts?” or “Have you lost your mind?”
What is Sanity?
The word for “sound mind” is the word “so-fron-es-mos”. It means to be safe-minded, having a prudent and sensible behavior that “fits” a given situation. It means having sound reasoning that is always under control. It means seeing the big picture with a complete perspective that sees and accepts legitimate truth from both sides of a matter. It expresses a settled state of mind that reflects the mind of Christ. We don’t have to understand it, we don’t even have to agree with it, but we still accept truth as God defines it. That is having a sound mind.
It would appear that our modern generation has confused thinking with feeling. We do not stop to think. We just react. We don’t reason things out. We seldom honestly evaluate another person’s actions. We don’t put things in context. We let our personal likes and dislikes be the only influence. We tend to check our feelings, and then let them take control.
We are fighting a civil war in America today. We are divided. We may call it the red states and the blue states, we may call it the liberal and conservative, but whatever we call it, we are fighting over two radically different and ultimately irreconcilable versions of America. Perhaps it is time to accept the fact that they cannot coexist. Only one will triumph. It’s not simply America at stake here. It’s sanity itself. The choice is between reason and madness. Yes, it’s that drastic.
In this civil war, no one is anything other than what they wish to be, what they claim to be, however they identify; all based solely on how they feel. There is no real history or precedent; these things are rewritten to suit the need of the moment. There is no objective reality based on physical or natural law. There’s only the tyrannical government of our feelings. And others are not permitted to disagree. It doesn’t matter that fire will burn you, if we choose to believe it will not, then that is our new truth, and that is the truth the press will report, politicians will promote, the courts will legalize, and the schools will teach our children.
Creeping out of the sewers are those bent on eradicating any vestige of American history. These are rebels keen on reinventing the past. These are radicals convinced in their truth and their vision who are willing to do whatever it takes to promote their twisted vision of perfection.
This new truth says that a girl, who feels like a boy, is as much a boy as any boy and every “real” boy must now cater to that delusion. Any boy, who thinks that his maleness has something to do with his physical body, must be made to feel guilty that he has such an antiquated and intolerant notion. We must learn to cater to the delusional psychosis of those who think differently than we do—as long as their thinking is based on insanity. Sane thinking does not enjoy the same protections in modern America. Sane thinking is now associated with hatred, bigotry, and intolerance. Who wants to bear those labels? So, by default, who wants to be sane? Sanity has become downright dangerous!
A man, who feels like, or for reasons of his own perversions, says that he feels like a woman on any given day must be permitted to use the dressing rooms and restrooms with the women, and if the women object to this invasion, they are called intolerant bigots. If they feel uncomfortable sharing intimate space with a man, it is they who must stuff their antiquated Victorian feelings, and submit themselves to the insanity of this personal violation.
Brainwashing and Child Abuse
In my opinion, the government educational system is systematically brainwashing and intellectually abusing our children. They are teaching our children to be irrational, and to accept insanity as proper and unquestionable. Our kids may no longer know that God created them male and female. They must be taught that they can and should totally disregard their physical body if their feelings on any given day don’t “match” what they see in the mirror. Actually, even that’s not good enough. Now, in some environments, the kids must not be “assigned” a gender at all, but must be allowed to choose for themselves whatever they feel like. There are no boys and girls anymore. Those outdated terms are now hurtful and oppressive. They are not boys and girls, they are students. I guess before long we’ll just be biological units.
We’re living right now through the attempted remake of the human person into a creature defined only by feelings and delusions. Every human relationship will also be remade and renamed in order to make this insanity seem kind, and sanity seem cruel. The apostle Paul plainly gives a cause for wrong thinking:
“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
Romans 1:21
Paul then describes the end result of deliberately rejecting the existence of God:
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.”
Romans 1:28
A debased mind is not a sound mind. Looking at verses 28-32, we can see all kinds of problems plaguing this modern world, all because of our rejection of God and His words.
“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” Psalm 14:1
History shows us that humans have almost always given preference to their own knowledge over the revealed knowledge that comes from God. The result of human thinking, apart from God, has caused untold chaos. For example, our government has mismanaged funds worse than a gambling addict. As a nation we have irrecoverable debt, grossly mismanaged funds, absolute corruption, but we don’t think it is a big deal, because that is how many families handle their personal finances also. Doesn’t that qualify as insane? Parents complain about their spoiled children, yet continue to spoil them more and more. Isn’t that insane? I think it might qualify.
We have even lost the instinct for survival. How is it possible that the strongest of all instincts, that for survival, seems to have ceased to motivate us? The homosexual movement threatens human survival. After all, if every person on earth became a practicing homosexual the human race would be extinct in a little over a hundred years. Is that insane? I think so!
Many people today think their reasoning is just fine, and they don’t really consider God. Freud described God as an illusion, created by humanity to fulfill our need for a strong father figure. According to this thinking, religion may have been useful for controlling the violent tendencies of a developing civilization, but is unnecessary now when we can turn to reason and science. Well, how’s that working out for mankind? God tells us the real solution in Romans.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Romans 12:2
The prophet Isaiah also records a related warning from God:
“Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin.”
Isaiah 30:1
Human reasoning, apart from God, cannot develop a mind that is sound.
How to Obtain a Sound Mind
The Bible tells us the real source:
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
II Timothy 1:7
Paul is teaching us that the Holy Spirit gives us the power and privilege to develop a mind that is temperate, disciplined and self-controlled. It is a mind that is peaceful and full of wisdom.
The apostle James explains the differences between the wisdom that comes from God and the thinking that is in the world around us.
“For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” James 3:16-17
On the spiritual level, right thinking can only come through the Holy Spirit. Of course, people can learn to reason clearly and develop common sense on the physical level. But on the spiritual level, right thinking can only come through obtaining the mind of Christ, and that comes from the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Dr. Worthington has been in the ministry over forty years and serves as President of Pathway Ministries.