Developing Strong-Minded Men and Women! (Part 2)
“A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I think we got the picture that those who historically purchase huge chunks of the “inspirational corners” of our heart are more human than we would like to credit them with! They had issues, challenges, heartache, and probably more self-doubt than anyone would ever know. That’s usually NOT a result of the Dr. Kings or Mother Theresas of the world excusing their self-doubts or merely keeping them secret on purpose. On the contrary, strong-minded people are ALWAYS worried about the impact their actions (many times to a self-destructive fault) their words, and yes – even their thoughts have on others they are serving! They were NOT soft-minded – but they were human and normal!
Being soft-minded is not hereditary but instead is a choice! We looked at some of the contributory elements that lead to being a soft-minded person in order to avoid such thinking. I will cover the last two in this entry.
#3 THE IDEA THAT WE “CAN’T” BECAUSE “THEY WON’T!”
This excuse to forward movement in life rides on the back of the self-entitlement horse for sure! This thinking squarely pits our inability to grow or mature on others’ lack of contribution to OUR success! It’s always someone else’s lack of effort or help or anything that has hindered our ability to fully achieve or do something rewarding with our life. For sure, scriptures like the following tend to mysteriously disappear from the average soft-minded creatures around us:
2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.” (NLT)
Our judgment and our fruitfulness in this life are based on doing our expected best with the tools God has given us. Simply put, a strong-minded individual is not looking for scapegoats as reasons for immaturity—but instead looks for reasons to overcome! The more resilient we become in the daily obstacles placed before us – the greater the resolve will be to look beyond the whining and complaining about never getting a “fair shake!” No matter how talented you are – that thinking will most certainly give you an early retirement from anything that smells like responsibility! Attempt to view people around you as your “instructors” and the natural stumbling blocks that attempt to hinder your progress as your textbooks in life! There are a ton of gifted athletes, inventors, teachers, and yes – gifted ministers, who will never accomplish much because they are too busy blaming others for their lack of success.
#4 THE NOTION THAT YOUR MIND (OR THINKING) ALONE CAN GET YOU OUT OF YOUR MESS!”
It should be understood at this point that there is NOTHING you can do effectively for God – without God! Sadly, this is not that well understood today in Christian circles.
John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (NASB)
Accountability to God is the FIRST requirement to growth and certainly to accentuated responsibility in a believer’s life. A soft-minded individual tends to look for ways to excuse themselves from accountability because it draws them towards personal responsibility to “produce.” The idea that something could be required from them or that there would be a need to give an account—to someone, is like the kiss of death to visitors in our modern-day churches! Why? Primarily because we haven’t taught that accountability is love in demonstration.
The fact that God is a willing participant in your life and even better—a fully devoted co-worker to your success is no small thing! Your mind cannot work your way out of every jam you find yourself in since your mind didn’t create it to begin with most times. The world qualifies that type of thinking as ingenious, yet God in the scriptures identifies it as purely selfish. Self-government is what enticed Adam to forego the blessing of intimate fellowship with the Creator and now it is the leading cause of under-achievement in the Body of Christ! Strong-minded men and women realize that what they have been called for requires more than their faculties alone—THEY NEEED GOD! You need Him too and you will never stop needing Him. Why not arm yourself with these four eye-openers to soft-mindedness and make a serious effort to press toward maturity? You won’t regret it and those around you will thank your for it!
