The Mind & the Mine Connection
“Mine!” That’s what toddlers say when another child wants to play with their toys. I remember my own children saying “Mine!” It took some time to change their “minds” to be generous, kind and giving.
But that “Mine!” attitude isn’t easy to break. Even, as adults, “mine” is a part of our DNA. My plans. My ideas. My way. My life. In the words of Frank Sinatra “I did it MY way!” Not anything against Frank, but that wasn’t a love song about a girl, a boy or even a city — it was about me, me, me.
I am from the Baby Boomer generation that was dubbed the “Me” generation aka the narcissistic, self-made, self-fulfillment generation. But it didn’t start there.
From the beginning, “Mine” was an issue. Out of all the lush beauty and best of fruits to eat – Adam and Eve weren’t satisfied. They HAD to have THAT apple.
Samson HAD to have Delilah. King David HAD to have Bathsheba. Judas HAD to have the 30 pieces of silver. We see the trouble “mine” got them. It seems to have carried over through all generations.
It’s Satan’s tactic. He authored it. It was about his glory as the highest of all angels, but he wasn’t contented. Instead, Satan desired to be God. “MINE” was and is his mode of operation. That’s why he isn’t content. He wants us, too!
You know the phrase: “My way or the highway”. I’m singing to the choir and a choir of angels are singing to us. Romans 12:10 calls us to “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.”
I’ve had plenty of time to get it right. I’m still learning. I’ve learned that my mind, mouth, mood, and attitude are all intricately connected. When they run amuck, it’s because “It’s all about me!” Mine. My feelings. My way.
For years, I didn’t make the connection between my thoughts and the rest of my life. But God, in His loving ways, taught me many things from His Word about the “mind connection”.
The longer I follow Jesus, the more I learn the attitude of humility. Philippians 2:5-9 explains it well: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death on the cross.”
No longer about ME and MINE! It is about HE. May God help us to humble our hearts AND our minds to become more like Him. More of You, Lord. Less of ME!