ODJ: Last Dance

June 13, 2016 

READ: Psalm 1:1-6 

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8).

Neuroscientists say our brains are flexible organs that harden over time. When one of our 100 billion neurons sends an electrochemical charge to another neuron, it opens a new path in the brain. If the neuron repeats this signal enough times, the path widens into a road and then a runway. The more we think about something, the more that thought becomes embedded in our brains. It might be easy to change our minds when experiencing a new thought. It’s more difficult when that thought has built a motorway in our heads.

Knowing how our brains work appears to provide both a warning and an opportunity. God warns us not to go down the path “of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers” (Psalm 1:1). This way turns our minds into “worthless chaff, scattered by the wind”, and “leads to destruction” (4,6). What we think can determine what we are.

Paul instructs, “Don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires” (Romans 13:14). And “Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (12:2).

This is our opportunity. If repeated thoughts form deep grooves in our minds, then meditation on Scripture burrows God’s wisdom into our very soul. Ever noticed how some people suffering dementia can still sing old hymns or recite the Lord’s Prayer? They may not remember their own name, but they still remember those faith-sustaining words.

I know of a woman who visits her husband every day in the nursing home. For many years they enjoyed dancing together, and it’s the one thing he still knows how to do. He can no longer communicate, but he can dance. What will be the last thing to go for us? Let’s save our last dance for the Lord.

—Mike Wittmer

365-day plan: Matthew 2:13-23