“Don’t think about pink elephants.” That a saying which means that the more you think about something, the more likely it is to bother you, so think about something else, anything else. I believe there’s truth to that. When I took Behavioral Psychology in college, our professor told us students he didn’t like anyone yawning during class, and loudly and vociferously scolded anyone who even slightly yawned. Some students just couldn’t help yawning during the lecture. He used this as an example that when you pay attention to a behavior, that behavior increases.
Many Christians focus on the “don’ts.” Don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t listen to that music, don’t think about the other. Their life is filled with avoiding activities or thoughts, hoping to live a life pleasing to God.
But Hebrews 12:2 offers us a more effective alternative. It says “…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…” Hmm… What would happen if our focus was focus was on Jesus and what He said to do? Not the “don’ts,” but the “do’s?”
For instance, there are all the “one anothers” in Scripture. Love one another, encourage one another, forgive one another, bear with one another, submit one another, and live in harmony with one another to name just a few. Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord always and pray without ceasing, while James says we should confess our sins to one another that we may be healed. And this is just a short list of positives to occupy our thoughts and time.
I think if we focused on the “do’s” our thoughts would be so filled with what He called us to do we wouldn’t have much time for thinking about those pink elephants of the “don’ts.”
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