Love Thinks No Evil
Scripture Reading - 1 Corinthians 13:5 KJV
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, (Love) thinketh no evil;
We are studying Thee Person of Love which is God Himself. We are learning that certain attributes of God need to be present in His Children so that we can accurately represent Jesus Christ the Blessed Son of God. We have also learned that certain negative behaviors are not a part of God’s Nature nor are a part of God’s Plan for man. In a previous lesson we spoke of God not being “ill-mannered” or “acting inappropriately” and another thing we talked about is God not being “Selfish”. We also taught on God not being “easily provoked” to anger and/or an unwise response. In today’s lesson we will speak on God never “thinking evil”. Yes, it is easier for us (mere men) to think that surely God can do that but we are not as confident in our own ability to never “thinking evil”. The reason it is hard for most Christians to believe that they can never totally remove “evil thinking” from their mind is twofold. First, man is inherently evil so since we have “thought evil” all our life it is difficult to swallow for the average Believer. Secondly, Satan has done a very good job of deceiving most people (including many Christians) into thinking his (Satan’s or evil spirits in his kingdom) thoughts are your thoughts. This is not true but only the wise Christian who knows God’s Word and has a good relationship with God through consistent fellowship with the Lord Jesus knows better. You see faith friend, the origin of “evil thinking” comes directly from Satan himself. Yes Satan, the evil one, is the author and commination of all evil. It is often Satan and his evil legion that puts “evil thoughts” into the head of a person masquerading as if it’s your own thoughts. If that person doesn’t know what is God and what is not God (evil) he or she will never be able to believe that they can be free from “evil thinking”. Yes, dear child of God you can be free from “evil thinking” only when you put God’s Word in your heart (spirit by speaking Him forth) and soul (by renewing your mind through study and reading of God’s Holy Bible) and your body (by not practicing wrong doing). To even be in the position of overcoming “evil thinking” one must truly understand that God gave you (and every born-again child of God) a new heart (a brand new spirit) that always produces good thoughts after the image and likeness of God. Remember it is the spirit of God within you that crys “Abba, Father” according to Romans 8:15. This reborn-again spirit is an offspring of God’s Holy Spirit so this new spirit will not (shall not) “think evil”. It is always the carnal mind who is under the influence of the wicked one that can choose to believe the “evil thoughts” it hears whispered in the ear or not believe them. This brings us to the reality that evil can come from at least three sources. One common source is your own heart if you are not cautious to judge your thoughts in the light of love and God’s thoughts about every man as recorded in the Holy Bible. A second source of “evil thoughts” is the words of men. Some of these men are ungodly so they normally speak evil without even realizing it. However, beware because often times our very own Christian brethren will speak evil of other people simply because their mind isn’t renewed to higher standard of God’s Word. The third source of “evil thoughts” was mentioned earlier as Satan himself. Yes, the devil and his evil demons will most definitely try to plant “evil thoughts” into your mind so we must be diligent to not give any place to the evil one and his lies. Yes, “evil thinking” takes on the form of unbelief by not choosing to believe God will do what He said He will do. God will for sure stand by (endorse, support, fulfill) His Holy Spoken Word for all men but the real question is will God’s beloved children stand by God until the completion (fulfillment, manifestation) of His Word? For when the Son of Man comes back shall He find faith on earth?-Refer to Luke 18:8 “Evil thinking” comes in the form of thinking the worst about a certain situation instead of the best according to God’s Word. “Evil thinking” does not want to Praise God for the victory but rather complain about the situation they find themselves in. “Evil thinking” often thinks bad thoughts about the other person simply because it is easier to believe the negative over the positive. “Evil thinkers” are critical of others and quick to express negative opinions. This is why todays social media if full to overflowing with “evil thinking”. When we choose to only think good (not evil) it requires faith and those who don’t know about faith or choose not to operate in faith will never speak positive kind words over someone who is reportedly guilty before the eyes of other people. Yes, since God doesn’t think evil we must strive to “not think evil” also. This element of God can only be accomplished by substituting the good thoughts of God’s Word into your mind when the “evil thought” approaches you without reservation or hesitation. However, you must be vigilant like Jesus in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13) and not passive like Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:1-6). We must recognize the source of the “evil thought” right off the bat and then immediately judge it as unfit (unworthy) for our renewed godly (God like) mind. This can be done through prayer, patience and purpose of heart but we have to be willing to judge ourselves (any personal carnal thinking) and judge the words of others (remove the thoughts and opinions of other who don’t know the right ways of God or the wholesome right thoughts of God) and finally we must understand God’s Word in its proper context to swiftly remove the mental temptations of “evil thoughts” from the evil one (Satan). To be just like God requires crucifixion of your flesh so we must be willing to take up our cross and follow Jesus. This basically means it won’t be easy but it is very doable when we follow God’s Pace by relying on God’s Grace. Amen!