Just as every second of our lives matters, so does every thought. Thoughts have the potential to influence our souls. Sometimes they indicate the condition of our hearts—the health of our relationship with God, whether we are in His will or far from Him. Recurring negative thoughts may be the result of an inability to allay them, because of spiritual weakness, unrepented sin, or testing. Mature Christians know the importance of feeding souls and minds as well as bodies.

Every cell of our bodies and every function of our minds and souls require unique nourishment and use to operate. If they are not fed and used, they atrophy. With inadequate nourishment and/or little exercise, they will not flourish as God intends. Poorly used malnourished souls and minds are ill-equipped to battle the wicked thoughts that infiltrate them every day.

Thoughts are often the precursors to actions. We cannot control the thoughts that pass through our minds, but we can, in God’s strength, control what happens with them. If we allow our thoughts to impact our actions, these actions will multiply and rapidly grow out of control. Good thoughts result in positivity and love, evil in negativity and hatred. All our thoughts have the potential to help or harm us on their own, but, depending on our ability to fight negative thoughts, our destructive thoughts can fester and grow into hatred, verbal vitriol, and violent behavior. Negative thoughts metastasize so quickly into life-threatening obsessions—addiction, promiscuity, uncontrollable rage—that can easily overthrow our defense system and threaten our soul’s eternal destination.

What becomes of our thoughts is up to us; what we do with these thoughts impact our minds and souls. Are we faithful to Jesus? Is our relationship with God developed to the extent that we can speak with Him in prayer whenever we feel sad, lonely, angry, or fearful? Do we spend time each day with the Bible trying to understand what God says about living the Christian life? Do we surround ourselves with Christian friends who love the Lord and are not afraid of standing first for Him? Or do we go with the flow—afraid to stand up and stand out for God?

Jesus likened the evil thoughts of our hearts to sins—including hatred, sexual immorality, and ungodliness. In his second letter to the people of Corinth, Paul spoke of the importance of taking every thought captive so that in obedience to Jesus we abolish things counter to God. Christians who regularly read the Bible have the information to clothe themselves in God’s full armor to withstand every temptation of the enemy. If they want to stand firmly with God and in His will, they will not be double-minded or fickle and want to please friends or those they admire. No, they will be fully committed to their relationship with God through Jesus first.

I grew up at a time when most people showed respect for every person. A good education, hard work, and worshipping God mattered. Nothing, or no one, was unimportant or insignificant, although some exhibited poor choices. While some people behaved poorly, every person was important to God and so each one was deserving of respect. The justice system was always busy because the world has always had to deal with crime and criminals.

My children were raised with my values and morals but the world they lived in was different from mine. They did not hear of the trauma of war nor economic hardship as I had (especially from my grandparents). My grandchildren’s understanding of wars and hardships is different yet again, as hardships today have little resemblance of what was considered difficult three or four decades ago. They grew up in greater prosperity with much time to focus on themselves. My education involved learning about all sides of issues, debating them with people of opposing views, always with respect and never with hateful thoughts of harm for the other. Not so today.

Today, there is no perfectly safe place to practice Christianity. Some areas offer safety for those following Jesus, but it is often only for those believing exactly what they believe. Other areas are no-go zones for Christians. Some countries do not tolerate faith of any kind, while others tolerate anything if there is respect for leadership and no violence. Christians who believe the Bible is God’s Word may be viewed as hateful because their leader died for them. Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life—there is no other way to God. Jesus’s bid to come join Him is viewed as exclusionary, but it is not. Everyone is invited. No one is left outside unless they want that.

Life is easy for no one. But when we answer the call to follow Jesus, our praying and reading the Bible gives us all the necessary instruction to take every thought captive because we know God. We want to follow Jesus and be like Him. We are equipped to handle every adversity. When we give in to negative thoughts, we know what to do—repent and turn away from evil and turn back to God. Our thoughts prepare us to live rich, godly, and sober earthly lives ready for what follows when we die. It is difficult to comprehend why there is such hatred for those who love and help even their enemies gain freedom in Jesus so that they too may choose God’s perfect security in Christ. Christianity alone offers the perfect ending—everlasting hope, peace, and joy.