A DIVIDED MIND

The wisdom of the fathers

A DIVIDED MIND

As an example, we ought to have a Christian mind. Our difficulty is that we have a secular mind and a religious mind. With the secular mind, we do most everything that we do, and then we have a little private party for what we call the religious mind. With it we try to serve the Lord the best we can. IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY! The Christian should not have a secular mind at all. If you are a Christian, you should "seek the things above" - there should be no worldly mind in you.

Some may ask, "how can I pursue my studies? How can I do my housework? How can I carry on my business? You do these things by making them a part of an offering to God as certainly as the money you put in the offering plate or anything else you give publicly to the Lord. Living the crucified life precludes this divided life. A life that is partly secular, partly spiritual, partly of this world and partly of the world above is NOT what the New Testament teaches at all. As Christians we can turn some of the most hopeless jobs into wonderful spiritual prayer meetings, if we will simply turn them over to God.

Nicola Herman, who was commonly known as Brother Lawrence, was a simple dishwasher in the institution where he lived. He said he did those dishes for the glory of God. When he was through with his humble work, he would fall down flat and worship God. Whatever he was told to do, he did for the glory of God. He testified, "I wouldn't as much as pick up a straw from the floor, but I did it for the glory of God."

One saint praised God every time he drank a glass of water. He did not make a production out of it but in his heart he thanked God. Every time I leave my house, I look to God, expecting Him to bless me and keep me on my way. Every time I am flying in the air, I expect Him to keep me there, land me safely and bring me back. If He wants me in heaven more than He wants me on earth, then He will answer no to that prayer and it will be all over - but I will be with Him over there. In the meantime while He wants me here, I will thank Him every hour and every day for everything.

Let us do away with our secular and worldly minds and cultivate sanctified minds. We have to do worldly jobs, but if we do them with sanctified minds, they no longer are worldly but are as much a part of our offering to God as anything else we give Him.

(by A. W. Tozer)