Don’t Believe Everything You Think

American psychologist Albert Ellis is credited with coining the phrase “stinking thinking” to describe “the human tendency to persistently engage with thoughts that do not serve us”. It’s often used in 12-Step programs to refer to the negative patterns of thought that add fuel to the fire of addiction, thoughts that sabotage your ability to see the world clearly and take responsibility for your actions.

The irony is that not only can stinking thinking lead to (and is intensified by) unprofitable substance and behavioral addictions, it also leads to addictions to itself. In other words, persistent negative thinking leads to even more negative thinking. Scientific studies show that it actually rewires the brain to make it easier to reoccur. The more you do it, the more you want to do it, and the better you get at it.

Sigmund Freud popularized the “hydraulic model” of emotion. He supposed that unexpressed emotions built up pressure in us like magma in a volcano until they exploded uncontrollably. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Violent outbursts were seen simply as the result of too much stress. So you were advised to go to an “anger room” to vent frustration and hostility by screaming and hitting things (and people) with batacas, foam padded bats. Lovely.

This was simply a repackaging of the ancient Greek concept of catharsis. The trouble is, catharsis is a lie. A treacherous lie. “Purging” doesn’t release the pressure and diminish the emotions. Rather, it intensifies them. What you practice, you perfect.

The Disease

We’re all guilty of stinkin’ thinkin’ to one degree or another. Here are some common examples that plague Christians, along with corrective suggestions:

1. If I try hard enough—by reading my Bible, praying more, and being more accountable—I can become a better person.

Sound familiar? Unfortunately, to hope to do better is to fail to acknowledge Christ in yourself. You know you can't and won't do better. The harder you try, the worse it gets. Every failure brings more self-condemnation, guilt, and shame. Only the Spirit of God moving through you can change you into the image of Christ. Yes, we have to cooperate with the Spirit. Even God can’t steer a parked car. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Phil. 2:13 NLT). Change starts in the heart and results in good works.

2. No matter what I do, I just can’t seem to resist certain temptations. Why should I even try?

To be disappointed with yourself means you believed in yourself. You'd better be disappointed with yourself. No good thing comes out of the flesh. The good news is, God isn’t disillusioned with you. He has no illusions about you in the first place. He loved you when you were a rebellious sinner, and he loves you now that you’re a saved sinner. So feel free to give up on yourself. Just don’t give up on God. He will finish what he started in you (Phil. 1:6).

3. Sometimes my life seems like one step forward and two steps back. I think my prayers just bounce off the ceiling. Why can’t I just die so I can be at peace in heaven?

While discouragement is human, it is the fruit of unbelief and distrust. Either God’s in charge, or he’s not. If he is, relax. God has a purpose, a plan, and blessings for you. Lay hold of them and move forward. Our path in life doesn’t look like a straight line. It looks like a bowl of spaghetti.

4. I tithe 20%, teach Sunday school, and serve on the church board. God could use more believers like me.

To be proud is to be blind. We have no standing before God in ourselves. See yourself as God sees you. Everything you have—even your faith and your salvation—is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8-9). In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis opined, “If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.” And further, the truly humble man “will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”

5. It doesn’t seem to matter if I sing traditional hymns or contemporary choruses. Or if I stand, kneel, or bow. Or if I raise my hands and pray in tongues or just sit quietly. I try to be sincere in my worship, but God still seems so far away.

Sometimes God hides his presence from us so we can fully feel the destructive path we’re on as a result of our stinkin’ thinkin’. Real devotion arises not from our will to show it, but from the discovery that we have received blessing from God while we were yet unworthy and undevoted. Amazing Grace is the song of the believer whose mind is being renewed in Christ. In the first two verses of Psalm 22, David opens with a cry of despair:

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.

Then, in the next three verses, David recognizes that his negative emotions are the result of his negative thinking about God. His solution? Change his thinking, and eventually that will change his emotions. Thus:

Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

The Cure

So how do you cure stinkin’ thinkin’? It’s no surprise. You already know the answer.

“Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Phil. 4:8)

“I [Jesus] have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16L33)

“A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” (Luke 6:45)

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Rom. 12:2)

Changing how you think takes patience, persistence, and practice. You’ve trained yourself to think sinfully. You can train yourself to think godly. It largely depends on what you feed your mind through books, TV, movies, social media, and the people you associate with.

Birds of a feather flock together. If you want to change your feather, you’ve got to change your flock.