I Don’t Like The “N” Word: Roots of Unhealthy Thought Patterns
(Excerpt from Weeds of the Mind )
by Aaron Maners)
Clash Daily Guest Contributor
To get rid of weeds permanently you have to deal with the root. You might feel some immediate satisfaction by mowing over the weeds, but that will only mask the fact that their roots still exist. In due time, they will be back with a ferocity.
The same principle can be applied to wrong thinking in our lives. We cannot think we can merely wish away a thought process or dangerous thinking; we have to get to the root of the problem. We might need to ask ourselves tough questions like, “Why is THAT particular thought here?”
Where the heck did THAT come from?
Someone near to our family whom we knew very well had a very poor view of people of other races. He was a bigot and very hung up on the color of skin and origins of others. I’m not sure why. Things got so extreme that he would pack up and move out of a neighborhood if people of color moved in. Yet he actively served in his church in various leadership roles during his season of extremism. His thinking was not just a shame, but also his hypocrisy tarnished his family’s name and reputation, and he risked his church’s name and reputation as well. His wrong thinking caused great damage to his family, friends, and neighbors
Even as a kid, I would try to reconcile this in my mind and would ask, “Why is this? How does this begin? Where does it start?”
It would be entirely speculation for me at this point, but I wonder if this was an issue of him picking up this wrong way of thinking during his upbringing after hearing it from others in his family. Perhaps he had a negative experience like a fight or longstanding rivalry with a person of color when he was younger. Whatever was the reason or the root, the heart of God wants to deal with it and heal it so that the character of Christ is shown out of that lifestyle instead.
Make no mistake, bitter roots or unforgiveness that may have originated yesterday can clearly affect all aspects of our lives today. Something that WAS can create what currently IS.
It’s not just a matter of desiring or even deciding to change the way we think. Our minds have long practiced their way of thinking and have formed deep roots in our brains that MUST be pulled up entirely. What we see and experience through repetition eventually becomes what we dwell on, and eventually, what we act like.
Lets start a pattern of thinking right…it will change the way we act.
Image: http://rockyriver7.wikispaces.com/Vocab+Ch.+6
Aaron Maners; http://www.aaronmanersministries.com; aaron@canvaschurch.net; 904-502-7156; “Weeds of the Mind” is available on all of the major internet outlets (Kindle, NOOK, iBookstore, Amazon.com)
