Why God Wants A Humble Mind From You

Here is a Bible verse that has seen me through sixty years of Christian faith, and challenges me to this day: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

All who walk with the Lord -- you and me included -- are challenged to open our minds to His mysterious ways. Abraham opened his mind to God's strange promise that his ninety-year-old wife, Sarah would conceive a child. His humble mind allowed him to believe the impossible dream. 

Moses shook in his sandals when he thought of confronting Pharoah, the most powerful man on earth. God told him to give Pharoah an ultimatum to deliver the Hebrew people out of Egypt. Albeit reluctantly, Moses opened his mind to God's direct guidance. Moses' flexibility allowed him to obey God's unusual commands.

An angel appeared to Mary and announced that the Holy Spirit would mysteriously impregnate her with the Son of God. The angel praised Mary for her humble and receptive mind.

After Christ's ascension into heaven, the apostle Peter made up his mind that only Jews could be saved. The Holy Spirit gave him an inspired dream that contradicted his rigid bias: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean” (Acts 10:15). Peter opened his mind and responded to God's new directions. He preached the Gospel in the Gentile household of Cornelius. After all gathered had received the Holy Spirit, Peter said, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right” (Acts 10:34-35).

 Scripture refers to the importance of a humble mind in Isaiah 55:9:

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

 NEW WINESKINS

Sometimes we think we've figured out God. We judge everyone according to what we think are God's standards. Occasionally, God has to dash our prideful thinking to pieces.

Compass Psychotheology reveals ten different ways that people from all cultures and every age can close their minds and hearts to God. This is why your personality matters so much to Christ. Every rigid personality pattern embodies represents a set of inflexible attitudes captured by in name of the pattern: Narcissistic Boaster; Compulsive Controller; Antisocial Rule-breaker; Paranoid Arguer; Dependent Pleaser; Histrionic Storyteller; Schizoid Loner, and Avoidant Worriers.

We all hold one or more of these unconscious mindsets. It is part of the sin that burdens us and sets us at odds with one another. We even resist and grieve the Holy Spirit when He would otherwise guide us to health and wholeness. As long as these mindsets are intact, our thinking is intractable. We unknowingly resist the grand adventure of God's will for us. 

Following the Lord on a daily basis requires a maximum openness so that we can keep revising our narrow assumptions into more complete versions of the Way, the Life, and the Truth in Jesus Christ.

Remember Jesus' metaphor about wineskins? The new wine of the Spirit-led life must continuously be put into fresh wineskins of new attitudes, perceptions. and values. Humble minds are constantly renewed, while rigid minds get stuck in a God-resistant rut.

The more obedient to Christ's Spirit we become, the more our minds are humbled. We are responsive to the genius of God in daily living. Giving up our rigid personality patterns and underlying attitudes brings us liberty -- a sense of creative living that is fresh and original -- in the Holy Spirit. “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).