Writing through the bible, Writing 4, Book 1

One of the biggest battlegrounds in life is in the mind. From the earliest days of man, God saw man’s struggle of the mind. Genesis 6:5 says, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Wicked actions start in our minds. Our God, who sees not as man sees but looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7), saw that at least part of mankind’s downfall was due to their wicked thoughts. 

After the flood, God again mentioned the wicked mind of man, in Genesis 8:21, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth.” This is a scary truth. It reminds us that the human mind drifts toward sin when God's word is not guiding us. The devil aims for the mind because that is where decisions are made, desires are formed, and actions begin (James 1:14–15).

But there is hope! We do not have to be ruled by evil thoughts. We can renew our minds (Romans 12:2). Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that we are to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” That is what we must do—fight against every evil thought.

How do we overcome? We must fill our minds with God’s Word: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). We must think on what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report (Philippians 4:8). We must be people who pray and be serious about what we allow into our hearts. If we take in worldly things, we shouldn’t be surprised when worldly thoughts take hold.

Overcoming evil thoughts isn’t a one-time act—it’s a daily battle. But with the Word of God, we can win. We must set our affection on things above (Colossians 3:2) and remember that what we think about shapes how we act.

Let’s train our minds to dwell on righteous and upright things (Philippians 2:5).