Proverbs 19: 21 - There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.
Over the weekend I attended a men's conference where one of the speakers talked about Cognitive Dissonance. This is a fancy psychological term to say that someone believes something that can not possibly be true because the facts contradict it. One example he gave was of a woman who had a favorite childhood memory of her father reading her a certain book. The book was her favorite because her father read it to her before he died while she was very young. Years later, she learned that the book she held so dear was not published until after the death of her father. He could not possibly have read it to her. She had linked two childhood memories into one. The point of the story was that the mind can play tricks on us.
Consider this scripture from Proverbs. There are many devices in a man's heart. The heart is the Biblical terminology for the mind or the imagination. In other words, we think a lot of things but that doesn't make them all true. When we commune only with ourselves we will convince ourselves of almost anything. We must all have some grounding of truth to base our ideas upon. The only rock solid truth in this world is the word of God. God's counsel will always stand true. Recently, a pastor friend told me that someone asked his opinion about a certain issue. His reply was simple. "My opinion doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what the word of God says." How true this is. We must base our ideas and opinions on the word of God. The word of God has stood true since before the beginning of time and it will stand true when the world is on fire. We can not afford to commune with our hearts. We must take our advice from the word of God. His word will never fail!
Trusting Him Daily,
Sullivan Jones
Over the weekend I attended a men's conference where one of the speakers talked about Cognitive Dissonance. This is a fancy psychological term to say that someone believes something that can not possibly be true because the facts contradict it. One example he gave was of a woman who had a favorite childhood memory of her father reading her a certain book. The book was her favorite because her father read it to her before he died while she was very young. Years later, she learned that the book she held so dear was not published until after the death of her father. He could not possibly have read it to her. She had linked two childhood memories into one. The point of the story was that the mind can play tricks on us.
Consider this scripture from Proverbs. There are many devices in a man's heart. The heart is the Biblical terminology for the mind or the imagination. In other words, we think a lot of things but that doesn't make them all true. When we commune only with ourselves we will convince ourselves of almost anything. We must all have some grounding of truth to base our ideas upon. The only rock solid truth in this world is the word of God. God's counsel will always stand true. Recently, a pastor friend told me that someone asked his opinion about a certain issue. His reply was simple. "My opinion doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what the word of God says." How true this is. We must base our ideas and opinions on the word of God. The word of God has stood true since before the beginning of time and it will stand true when the world is on fire. We can not afford to commune with our hearts. We must take our advice from the word of God. His word will never fail!
Trusting Him Daily,
Sullivan Jones