The Importance of Your Mind
Romans 7:25
"I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."
The importance of thinking with your mind and not your flesh is seen in this verse. Paul said that the flesh leads to sin. In other words, when you allow your flesh to guide you, then you will end up committing sin. You often hear people making the statement that they feel it is the right thing to do. When they talk about making a decision with their feelings, then they are making a decision with their flesh. The flesh deals with feelings. What most don't understand is that their feelings are based off the emotion of the moment. When you make decisions based off the emotion of the moment, you are bound to make wrong decisions.
Most, if not all, sin is committed because of decisions based on the emotion of the moment. For instance, a person loses their purity because they are basing their decision off the emotion of the moment. A person goes into debt because they base their purchases off the emotion of the moment. People lose their temper based off the emotion of the moment. In each of these instances, the emotion of the moment caused them to make a wrong decision. If they wouldn't have thought with their flesh, then they wouldn't have made a wrong decision.
On the other hand, Paul stresses the importance of serving God with the mind. This is so important for you to understand. You will only be successful in your service to God by letting your mind make decisions and not your emotions or feelings. People who are successful in serving God make spiritual decisions based in their mind. The reason their mind makes spiritual decisions is because they base their decisions off the Word of God. If you make decisions by your feelings, then the Word of God will have no part in your decisions. But, if you make your decisions with your mind, then your mind will use the Word of God as its basis for right and wrong.
The mind that Paul is talking about is the mind of Christ. Philippians 2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" It is the mind of Christ that causes you to serve God. When you let your emotions make decisions, then your emotions will run to the flesh. When you let the mind of Christ control you, then that mind will bring you to the Word of God.
Because the mind is what determines your spirituality, it is important that you control what you let influence your mind. If you let the Word of God influence your mind, then the mind of Christ can be the mind that will guide you into serving the LORD. If you fill your mind with the things of the world, then you will find yourself making fleshly decisions.
Let me encourage you everyday to ask God to place His mind in you. Spend time on a daily basis reading the Word of God so that His mind can influence yours. Before you make any decision, always ask God to let His mind influence your decisions. Don't allow feelings to make your decisions. Let the mind of Christ be the main influence in your life. By doing so, you will find yourself successfully serving God, which is the only way to enjoy life to its fullest.