Wisdom wrote in Proverbs chapter 23:
1 When you’ve been invited to dine with a very important leader, consider your manners and keep in mind whom you’re with.
2 Be careful to curb your appetite and catch yourself before you fall into the trap of wanting all you see.
3 Don’t crave their delicacies, for they may have another motive in having you sit at their table.
4 Don’t compare yourself to the rich. Surrender your selfish ambition and evaluate them properly.
5 For no sooner do you start counting your wealth than it sprouts wings and flies away like an eagle in the sky—here today, gone tomorrow!
We are to bring thoughts into obedience.
Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10:
3 For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with Divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide.
5 We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.
This means not every thought that enters your mind should be accepted. A renewed mind evaluates thoughts against God’s Truth.
The mind is renewed through Scripture.
Jesus prayed in John chapter 17:
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them by Your Truth. Your Word is Truth.
Regular exposure to Scripture reshapes how we think.
Our mind is also renewed through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit illuminates God’s Word and changes our hearts from within.
The mind is also renewed through obedience. Renewal is not merely learning information. As we obey what God teaches, our thinking is progressively transformed.
A renewed mind increasingly exhibits:
Humility instead of pride
Faith instead of fear
Gratitude instead of complaining
Purity instead of corruption
Truth instead of deception
Love instead of bitterness
Eternal perspective instead of worldly obsession
A renewed mind does not mean:
Never struggling with temptation
Never having wrong thoughts enter your mind
Becoming intellectually superior
Rather, it means that when wrong thoughts arise, they are recognized and brought under the authority of Christ.
The Ultimate Example:
Jesus Christ perfectly demonstrated a renewed mind. He consistently sought the Father’s will, even when it involved suffering. Believers are called to develop “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16), learning to think and respond as He did.
In practical terms, a renewed mind asks:
“What does God say about this?”
“What response would honor Christ?”
“Am I thinking according to Truth or according to my feelings and the world’s influence?”
The more a believer fills their mind with God’s Word and yields to the Holy Spirit, the more their mind is renewed and their life reflects Christ.