Winnie the Pooh seems to agree....
A.A. Milne (author of Winnie the Pooh) says, "The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking."
Do you t..h..i..n..k? Most people today don't want the hard work...they simply go with the flow (third-rate). Or they do not want to "go with the flow," so they take the opposite path (second-rate). To have a first-rate mind is to employ two things:
1. Realizing the mind is a battlefield. Two forces vie for the control
seat....good and evil.
2. The heart is the control center for the mind.
The devil knows that if he can control the mind (and subsequently the heart), he will control the world. The reason thinking "is the hardest work you will ever do," is we are to be on guard to what our minds are absorbing, waging the battle in filtering out the lies so the Truth leads us.
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Phil. 4:8) God gives us the focus for our thoughts. How do we know what is true, noble, right....?
HIS WORD!
"Do not conform (follow) to the pattern of this world, but be transformed (metamorphose) by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2) God's Word first transforms the heart (view my previous post), then renews the mind....a mind that knows God's will for our lives. A first-rate mind thinks according to what God says, not what man says.
Your mind in knots? Open your Bible....we do not have all the answers....and never will...but God does.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." James 1:5
I have learned that a happy mind is one who is thinking on God's precepts, the Truth.
