“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
– 2 Corinthians 10:5
Do you take your thoughts captive or do your thoughts captivate you? For most of us, we really like our own ideas. After all, we think that every thought we have must be right. Right? But not every human-generated idea is according to the Bible. In fact, we have to learn how God thinks, and that is why we have the Bible in the first place – so we can learn how God thinks. His thoughts and ways are different, higher, than our ways so says the prophet Isaiah in 55:8-9.
Paul in this text is talking about a congregation at Corinth that is struggling with some issue. He has been gentle when he visited them, and strong in his letters to them. And he does not wish to be strong the next time he visits. He is giving a way to solve the issues – check your own thinking. Do the ideas and plans you have square with God’s word? Are you thinking about what is best for all people involved. If you are, great! But you have to check. And, are you thinking that everyone else is wrong? If you are thinking that way, where is your understanding of the Holy Spirit in each baptized person?
Paul helps us understand that, when we struggle, we will do well to check ourselves first to make sure we are tracking in the direction that God wants us to go. We will do good to remember that God’s goal is to bring people home to heaven with Himself. He does that through the message of Jesus’s sacrifice on our behalf. God’s goal is for peace and wisdom based on the One who is Peace and Wisdom. Let us think, and then speak and act, all for His glory and the good of others.
