Daily devotional, January 24, 2024 Sins of the mind
"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander."
Matthew 15:19
My favorite bible teacher always says that the Christian life is a supernatural life. That without Jesus Christ in our midst, it would really be very hard to follow the Ten Commandments. Then I started thinking, most of the people I know, I think, follow it closely: they do not kill, steal, commit adultery, they worship the Lord with all their hearts and they honor their parents and all. Most of them are very honest too.
Until I heard the second part of his teaching where he discussed the sins of the mind. The sins that we cannot see someone committing. The sins we can commit without no one — except God — will notice.
In the New Testament for instance, Jesus himself mentioned that when we hate another person, we are already disobeying the commandment against murder.
"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brotherwill be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire."
Matthew 5:22
Now anger is not always communicated or acted upon. But biblical scholars say, not committing the last step towards murdering a person by just wishing him dead instead, does not mean you did not break the said commandment.
Another sin of the mind which we have to be conscious of is adultery. In the same chapter in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said that even if a man did not outrightly commit the act of adultery, he is guilty of it even just by looking with malice.
"But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28
The same goes with covetousness. We actually do not need to physically act on this to commit the sin because it is literally committed in the mind. We commit it once we desire what others have, and focus on that desire. Such a mental state can move us to sin like stealing and even adultery.
The commandment to not bear false witness against a neighbor can also be committed with the mind. Yes, witnessing entails speaking, but even with just thinking, we get to commit such an act.
Bible scholars explain we also commit it when we are inappropriately silent about something. For instance, if someone is slandering or telling a tale about someone else, and we know the truth about it, and we refuse to speak about it for self-preservation purposes, then we commit such a sin too. We refuse to truthfully witness for someone’s good.
Given the above stringent rules, what are we to do so that we will not break these commandments even with our minds? In his letter to the Corinthian Church, St. Paul the Apostle encouraged people who might be tempted to sin to run to the Lord and pray for protection against temptation. He also encourages the believers to keep their eyes open to see another path that will take them away from the possibility of sinning.
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."
1 Corinthians 10:13
And how about our minds? What are we to think of? How do we control our thoughts? Well, the Bible also has an answer to that. We should focus on the positive aspects of life, instead of other people’s bad traits, as well as negativity, covetousness, and anger.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8
Moreover, we can avoid sinning by busying ourselves with our own lives. By pursuing a peaceful family life with the Lord Jesus Christ at its front and center. When we are not idle, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and we are preoccupied with doing good, we will be able to sin less.
"and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one."
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Deuteronomy 5:17-21 and Matthew 5:21-30 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Have you committed any sins of the mind? How can going to Jesus Christ help you not break such commandments?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us rules that keep us from hurting ourselves and other people. Help me to obey them with my mind, my heart, and my body. I cannot do it on my own, and I know that only you can guard my heart. Amen.