The Carnal Mind Versus The Strategic Mind

God’s mind and thinking are divine and eternal. The focal point of the Father’s resources is His Son, Jesus Christ. What is the focal point of your mind and resources, and how do you know?

While God’s mind is divine and strategic, our carnal minds often think short-term. We tend to think in terms of the immediate: “If it feels good, I will do it.” I will take the path of least resistance based on what feels good. Most Christians live on this level. However, feelings produce short-run goals and short-run living.

To the other extreme, we have fatalism which says, “The world is too big. I am powerless to change it, so why attempt to make long-range plans?“ The carnal mind operates at these two extremes: We either live by our feelings and take the path of least resistance, or we live by fatalism and avoid long-term planning because we believe failure is inevitable. 

However, because we have (or should have) the mind of Christ, we are called to think strategically. We are to manage His cosmos, i.e., the world order. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” World or cosmos comes from the root word, komeo, which means “to tend for in an orderly arrangement.” God so loved the orderly arrangement that He did what? He gave us His only Son so we could have eternal life. When we read that, we might think God is just talking about the saving of souls. But He is talking about the entirety of His creation. Paul shows us that in Romans 8 when he talks about the whole creation groaning in travail. Sin marred all creation, including both man and nature. Because God loves to tend and bring order to His creation, He sent His Son to die for us and to recapture the ability for us to manage all that He created.

Thought of the Day: God calls us to actively participate in not only the changing of our own lives but the redemption and stewardship of creation.