Dangerous Assumptions

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. – 1 Corinthians 2:2

Who can understand the mind of a woman?  No one aside from God.  I think we can all agree on that one, we even confuse ourselves much of the time.  The female mind is like a jungle: full of fantastic beauty, yet containing pathways of perilous danger.  Today I want to encourage you to block off one particular pathway and to train your thoughts to walk in gospel light. 

One of the most dangerous roads we tend to wander down in our minds is the pathway of comparisons.  We assume certain things are true about others when they are not.  Before we even enter a room of people we have a dozen thoughts zooming into our consciousness.  Thoughts of inadequacies and self-doubt, feelings of not measuring up in appearance, intelligence or experience.  We assume we are lacking in some serious ways that others are not. 

Even in our own homes we are not shielded from the taunts of deception.  We assume other women are better mothers, housekeepers and cooks (I mean, just look at their Facebook page).  We assume they are loaded with friends and social events when we are often lonely and longing for just one good girlfriend to hang out with.  We assume they have it all together while we are struggling to stay sane.

Stop the assumptions, ladies!  I’m here to tell you today that you are just not as special as you think you are!  One thing I have come to learn about women is that we are most certainly more alike than we are different.  We tread very similar pathways and experience what is common to womanhood.  Just like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.”  These deceptive assumptions that we allow (yes, allow) to cross our minds are from our enemy and his aim is our distraction (wow, are we easily distracted).  He has been using the same simple play book for decades on us.  Why not change up his strategy? Because it works!  We fall prey over and over again. 

No more.  Board up that perilous pathway of thought and walk away from it.  Send your thoughts where your all-knowing Father tells you to.  He makes it clear in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers [and sisters], whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”  Thoughts consumed by what is praise-worthy (the epitome of all of these attributes is Jesus) do not have time to wander off into darkness.  They are trained away from darkness and toward light.

I think Paul said it best when he said, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2.  When he went to the people of Corinth, he was not consumed with thoughts of his potential inadequacies (what he looked like, what the people would think of him, how he would compare).  In some ways he would have been inferior to them and other ways superior, but here is the point…it didn’t matter.  Paul didn’t care about any of that.  He decided to know only Jesus and what he did on the cross.  That was his only concern - to display the gospel.  His mind was trained away from petty, earthly concerns and trained onto gospel purposes.

That should be our concern too.  Not how we measure up (which is WAY off target to reality anyway) but how we can display the gospel to others.  We need to think on Jesus and display him in our actions.  Ladies, the next time you feel the coming bombardment of deceptive thoughts (whether in private or public) remember that you no longer take that path, it is off limits.  Do not entertain dangerous assumptions leading to pointless comparisons (truly idolatry of others).  Refuse to be distracted from your purpose for breathing! 
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Train your mind to walk in the light of the Word and turn your thoughts onto your true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and praise-worthy Savior.  Decide to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified.