Not only do you have the permission to screen your thoughts , the Bible explicitly commands you to .”
Maybe you should add a customs agent to the routine , as long as you are at it .
Purpose of your trip ? How long do you intend to stay in the country ?
Not only do you have the permission to screen your thoughts , the Bible explicitly commands you to : “ Finally , brethren , whatever things are true , whatever things are noble , whatever things are just , whatever things are pure , whatever things are lovely , whatever things are of good report , if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things ” ( Philippians 4:8 ). Paul recommended that you have a filter in your head — a screening process that you pass thoughts through before you let them come in and make themselves comfortable . Are you true ? Well . . . not really . Sorry , you are denied entry . Are you noble ? Obviously not . How about pure ? Yeah , you ’ re not getting in here . Would you be described as lovely ? Definitely not . Buh-bye .
I love the last part of that verse as it is rendered in The Message : only allow into your mind “ the best , not the worst ; the beautiful , not the ugly ; things to praise , not things to curse .”
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Not only do you have the permission to screen your thoughts , the Bible explicitly commands you to .”
Can you even imagine how much of a game changer it would be if , as you drove the kids to soccer , did laundry , walked to third period , led a staff meeting , ran on the treadmill , or waited to fall asleep , you allowed into your mind “ only the best , not the worst ; the beautiful , not the ugly ”? Would you even recognize the peace-filled person you had become ?
A study back in the 1980s revealed that people have on average 500 intrusive thoughts every 16 hours , each lasting an average of 14 seconds . Many of these intrusions are just worries or anxious thoughts ; 18 percent are mean , unacceptable , or politically incorrect — and 13 percent are ugly or downright shocking : shoving a stranger off the subway platform , running over a pedestrian , stabbing a partner , raping
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