The Mind is not Evil

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6, KJV)

The human mind has had a bad reputation amongst believers as a result of a focus “on the spirit.” However, amongst the human capacities of mind, emotions, and will, there is none as god-like in man as the mind with its power of thought, reason, imagination, consciousness and center of language. It took years of personal study of the Word to realize that the mind is not wholly evil as my Pentecostal upbringing had ingrained in me— possibly unconsciously.

The scripture talks about the carnal and spiritual mind as noted above. The carnal mind leads to death and the spiritual mind leads to life. The human mind, like every other part of our human nature, has been deeply affected by the fall. Interestingly, the fallen aspect of our minds most hit by the fall is our relationship with God. The phone in your hands is proof of the capacity of the human mind. However, some of the same great minds that create sophisticated equipment, for example, are unable to understand a simple truth that there is a God. This is the corruption of the human mind by sin.

However, that in no way implies the mind by itself is evil. In fact, the Lord instructs us to renew the mind, because humanity cannot live on earth without the mind. An over-emphasis on the spirit has led some believers to think their spirit somehow by-passes their minds(or soul in general) to live when they are “walking in the spirit” No! The spirit lives in and through the human mind(and soul in general). The mind is not evil! Renew your mind by the Word and use it for the glory of God. The LORD needs your mind. Your spirit needs your mind. Sin has corrupted the mind and wants to use our minds to destroy God’s purposes in our lives. The polluted mind is so powerful in the destructive operations that it can completely cut off a man or woman from the life of God through the way they think( Eph. 4:18,2 Cor. 10:5 ). However, through the powerful operations of the Word, the mind can be renewed, redeemed and used to develop a rich and enjoyable fellowship with the Spirit.

MEDITATE

What is the carnal mind? See Rom. 8:4-6 above.

APPLY THE WORD

The Lord wants you to know that your mind is not evil. He made the mind and gave it to us as a gift. A crucial component of the image of God in us is our minds. Do not be hyper-spiritual as I was above, trying to neglect or despise the mind in the name of “living by the spirit”. The same thing applies to the human body. An exaggerated, excessive and unbalanced emphasis on the spirit, especially amongst charismatics, can lead to a twisted view of our nature and dangerous neglect of an integral part of our being such as the mind or body. Do not “throw away” your mind. Rather, redeem and renew it by the Word and allow the Spirit to use it for His glory!