The Filter – Part 4

Greetings Dear Reader,

“To think well is to serve God in the interior court.” – Thomas Traherne

As I move through my thoughts on Christ’s citation that the first and second commandments are key to being who God wishes us to be in relation to him, I realize just how much of what we become begins in the mind. We have thoughts. Those thoughts become the fuel of our feelings and actions. If I do not monitor and master my thinking then I will not master my feelings and actions.

So how is it that I become someone who loves God with my entire mind? At the core of this seem to be some very basic exercises that can yield valuable return. The first is that I must think. I must choose to process what goes in and what comes out. I must think about literally everything I feel, believe, and desire in light of whether it obeys the command to love God and to love my neighbor as myself.

If I am going to reject someone, can I reason that it is how God wishes me to treat them in pursuit of God’s heart? If I am going to think ill of a person, can I with confidence say that Christ thinks ill of them? It is a simple thing to hang on to our anger, hurt, or desires in place reaching toward the heart of God. If I am pounding my chest, demanding my rights or wants, can I truly say that this is reasonable in light of loving God and others?

I find it a contradiction to say that I am giving God love with my thoughts and still harboring ill thoughts toward my fellow man. It is easy for me to rationalize that the individual has harmed me or may harm me again. It is simple to think only of another’s failings as the issue and to minimilize my own faults. It is a necessary discipline to filter my thoughts about others through the question “do I wish to be treated in the way I am treating this person?” The mind quickly supplies a list of rationalizations as to why this circumstance allows me to act differently. Most of these are lies.

My duty is to pursue peace. My obligation is to extend the same grace that is extended to me. There is no room for me to dismiss anyone. If I carry resentment toward anyone then my thinking is flawed. Christ expressed his view on these commandments without caveat. Remember that those asking the question had in their minds, soul, and heart to trick him. Instead of railing against their evil intent, he pointed them back to the foundation of our relationship to God. He reminded them that they were to love.

If I find myself resisting the expression of God’s love to another individual I need to think. I must process why I am resistant. I must discover what fear or selfishness drives me. I must realign my thinking so that I view that person in light of loving God and my neighbor. It does not matter what my agenda is, if I claim to follow Christ and embrace his teachings, I must submit my mind, soul, and heart to these simple filters.

What do I think about when someone wrongs me? What words do I use to disagree with another person? How do I think about complex family issues? What is my thought process when confronted with an offense? If I am not filtering my thinking through the commands to love God and to love my neighbor as myself, then I am not aligning my thinking with the heart of God.

The filtering of my thoughts, passions, and desires will necessarily be complex and painful. It means for me a race to the bottom. I must see just how in need of this same deference I am. I dare not judge, dismiss, or reject others when my need for grace and love is so dire. I must not shame the name of Christ by claiming to follow him and rejecting his most basic command. So for review I conclude my thoughts for now with this:

Mat 22:34 - 40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. One of them, an expert in Moses' Teachings, tested Jesus by asking, "Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in Moses' Teachings?"
Jesus answered him, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' All of Moses' Teachings and the Prophets depend on these two commandments."

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."