"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
Romans 8:6
Sometimes I think that we get to thinking that our perspective is the only one there is, and that it can't be changed. We see life one way, and think that that is the way that it is. We could be despairing or angry, and that feeling and way of seeing takes us completely... we get to a point where we can't see anything else. We may even do that when things are going great. We feel wonderful and on top of the world, and we can't remember what it felt like to be sad or lonely or angry. Hopefully, as we experience more ups and downs in life, we learn that the bad times never last forever, and the good times make it all worth it. More importantly, and I think this verse alludes to this, we learn that where our minds are is a choice. We don't get tossed with the tide and come up spluttering with no control over what we feel. We control whether we are carnally or spiritually minded... whether we are thinking short-term or long-term, and what occupies us. Again, it is easy to believe that the way we feel and think now is the only possible way... but everything can be looked at from another perspective, and we all have the ability to see different facets of reality. Sometimes we want to believe that emotion rules us, because that somehow makes us less responsible for our actions... but it doesn't. We choose our actions, even when we are feeling things very strongly. And, ultimately, our choice is life and peace, or death.
Romans 8:6
Sometimes I think that we get to thinking that our perspective is the only one there is, and that it can't be changed. We see life one way, and think that that is the way that it is. We could be despairing or angry, and that feeling and way of seeing takes us completely... we get to a point where we can't see anything else. We may even do that when things are going great. We feel wonderful and on top of the world, and we can't remember what it felt like to be sad or lonely or angry. Hopefully, as we experience more ups and downs in life, we learn that the bad times never last forever, and the good times make it all worth it. More importantly, and I think this verse alludes to this, we learn that where our minds are is a choice. We don't get tossed with the tide and come up spluttering with no control over what we feel. We control whether we are carnally or spiritually minded... whether we are thinking short-term or long-term, and what occupies us. Again, it is easy to believe that the way we feel and think now is the only possible way... but everything can be looked at from another perspective, and we all have the ability to see different facets of reality. Sometimes we want to believe that emotion rules us, because that somehow makes us less responsible for our actions... but it doesn't. We choose our actions, even when we are feeling things very strongly. And, ultimately, our choice is life and peace, or death.
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