No. 1079 - WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?

No. 1079

Jim Davidson -- NEWSPAPER COLUMN

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?

As I have said many times over the past 20 years of writing this column, my goal or mission in life is to help as many people as I possibly can. When I say “help,” I mean to share thoughts and ideas that are positive, inspiring, and educational. I try to conduct my own affairs in a manner that will be a credit to God, my family and my friends. While I know I don’t succeed all the time, that is still my heart’s desire and I do the best I can.
We all have needs of various kinds, and there are more than 320 million people in our nation, so my approach is just try to help one or even a few at a time. Many readers have written to me and expressed their appreciation for my columns, even having a file to save them, reading them in a church or other meeting place, and I am grateful for each one of them.
For the past few years I have had a real burden about a problem that is affecting millions of people in our nation, and I want to share some thoughts that may be helpful, especially if the right people read this -- those who are in a position to do something about it. I am talking about the increasing number of child molesters and predators in our society. You know something is bad wrong when a daily newspaper runs the photos of some of these people on the front page and gives the address of where they are living. It is especially disheartening when a church pastor or other official is involved in this activity because they are held to a higher standard.
First, I believe we should look at the problem from the source, which is the mind, as this is where this kind of behavior begins. From my perspective, a true understanding of how the mind works will go a long way in reducing this terrible problem. The human mind is impartial, as it does not care what we put into it, but it will begin to formulate thoughts that lead to action if fed impure thoughts long enough. This is why pornography is such a scourge on our society.
Some time ago, on Facebook, I befriended a number of people I did not know because I wanted to develop supporters of our bookcase project that would help to reduce illiteracy in our nation. What I got, unfortunately, was a few people who are just plain vulgar and sickening as to what they post. We are beginning the process of “unfriending” them as quickly as we can. When a man or boy (most viewers are male) views pornography on a regular and consistent basis, they are just planting seeds that will begin to grow. If not curbed, they act out the fantasies they are developing in their minds. I believe it is safe to say that if a person wishes to clean up their thinking, and eventually their life, it must begin in the mind by what we permit to enter it.
It is only by the grace of God that I learned what I am sharing with you several years ago and I have developed the habit of just turning off books, music, television shows and other sources of information that would plant seeds that are undesirable. This is only possible because I know what it would do, over time, to my mind. While I would never try to impose my convictions on anyone else, because this is a free country, I can say what life’s experiences have taught me and at least suggest that others may wish to give it a try.
Because the Bible is mostly my source for things that “matter,” I have found a verse of scripture that has been most helpful. It says in Philippians 4:8 -- “Finally Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is considerate -- if there be any moral excellence, and if there be any praise – think on these things.”
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(Editor’s Note: Bookcase for Every Child – Changing Lives & Futures – ONE AT A TIME. Please visit our website: www.bookcaseforeverychild.com)