Throughout my time in junior high and high school, one of the most common things my parents asked me was, “What were you thinking?” This catchphrase of my parents was used at least once a week and I rarely had an adequate answer for them because, well, I wasn’t thinking. Far too often I simply went through life without thinking through what I was doing or even why I was doing it. I was walking through life thoughtlessly.
Thoughtlessness is a plague among young men. A trap that is far too easy to fall into because we do not notice when we are living thoughtlessly. J.C. Ryle says that “men will not consider – will not look forward – will not look around them – will not reflect on the end of their present course, and the sure consequences of their present ways.”[1] Far too often, we men walk through life without looking forward or back. Sure, we might have career goals and life plans, but we are not being considerate of the day-to-day. When we are living like this, we are living sinfully.
Now it might come as a shock that thoughtless living is sinful. Scripture, however, is clear that the Christian ought to be mindful and considerate of their lives. In Matthew 22:37, Jesus teaches that the greatest commandment is “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength” (emphasis added). Loving God requires that we use the minds that he has given to us to love Him fully. In the very next verse, Jesus says that the second greatest commandment is “to love your neighbor as yourself.” Both commandments require the Christian man to be a thinking and thoughtful man.
Loving God Thoughtfully
First and foremost, the godly man must first have his mind renewed, as Romans 12:1 commands us. If we are to be godly, we must fill our minds with the things of God. This means that we must be in the Word of God daily. Not simply reading it, however, but we must meditate upon his Word. God wants us to be students of His Word because we are deepening our knowledge of and our love for Him. When we know God’s Word intimately, we cannot help but grow in our knowledge of God. When we grow in our knowledge of God, we will grow in our love for God and our love for ourselves which means we will be more considerate and thoughtful of God throughout our days.
Loving God with our minds then comes to being thoughtful about how we spend our days. Scripture is clear that we must use our days and our time well. Ephesians 5:16 states that we are to “make the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” James 4:13-15 commands us that we are to hold our plans loosely and give them up to the Lord. In Psalm 31:14-15, David reminds us that our time is in the hands of God. Clearly, our days are not up to us but are up to our sovereign, almighty God. Recognizing this is key to loving God with our minds because we are then ready to go through our days loving Him because He becomes the focus. God, rather than ourselves, becomes the one we are seeking to please with our day-to-day. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have goals and dreams, it means that we trust God with our goals and dreams and are focused on what God has placed right in front of us today. We learn to enjoy the work that God has given to us while also balancing our rest and play in a way that is God glorifying.
All this requires that we are thoughtfully going through our days. As soon as thoughtlessness creeps in, we are opening ourselves up to sin. Being thoughtless removes the boundaries that naturally come when we are rightly loving God with our minds.
Loving Others Thoughtfully
The second greatest command, according to Matthew 22, is to love our neighbors as we would love ourselves. While this command does not come with the same list as the greatest commandment, there is an implication that we would love ourselves similarly, which means that we are thoughtful in how we love ourselves. This would then require that we are thoughtful in the way that we are loving towards others and see this command throughout Scripture. Philippians 2:3 requires that we are to consider others before ourselves in humility, requiring us to be thinking through how we view and treat those around us. Loving others well is not just an action but requires our minds so that we can fully love them the way God has called us to.
To love others well, we must be actively thinking as we go about our day. This is not a call to just love those who are close to us – our friends, roommates, family, or spouses. This is a call to love each person we encounter – the cashier at the grocery store, the guy driving slow in the carpool lane, and our coworkers. As Christian men, we must stand out for our thoughtful love of other people to show them the love of Christ.
There is often a temptation for us men to be more action oriented, which is partially how God has made us. However, we must be thoughtful as well. Thoughtlessness is what has led to many sins, both sins of commission and omission. In order to fulfill the commands of God, we must be men who love God and love others fully. This requires that we be men who are thoughtful. Avoid the snare of thoughtlessness and love God and others with your mind.
We must be men who are going through our days thoughtfully, taking care to think through how we are loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We must be thinking through how we are loving others as we would love ourselves, thoughtfully. The call for the Christian man is one that requires all of us, even after we have put our faith in Christ.
[1] J.C. Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men, 25.
[1] J.C. Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men, 25.