“You will live like who you believe you are.”
There is an ancient trick in advertising called “the power of suggestion.” And whether you know it or not, you’re getting bombarded by it from every direction, every day.
The Power of Suggestion: “The act of planting a thought into someone’s mind in order to psychologically guide or manipulate behavior to a desired outcome.”
The power of suggestion runs rampant every time we scroll social media, turn on the TV, or read the news. We sing along with its catchy jingles and commit its slogans to memory. Consider these popular “suggestive” ads from my lifetime:
“Betcha Can’t Eat Just One” (Lay’s)
“You Deserve a Break Today” (McDonald’s)
“The Happiest Place on Earth” (DisneyLand)
Advertising firms spend fortunes identifying the silent hopes and fears of potential customers in order to find the most covert way to convert data into dollars. And, judging by the number of families who have exhausted their savings to take their kids to the “happiest place on earth,” I would say it is working.
It’s one thing when advertising companies scheme to expand their customer base through suggestion. It’s entirely another when the manipulator of our souls asserts his lies, leading us to live unworthy of who we were created to be. In Part One of this series, we talked about thinking thoughts that are “true.” We also rejoiced at how God’s Spirit resides in our minds, for both our security and our maturity! You can check that out here. Today, we return to Paul’s letter to the Philippians to ask a second question about how to “mind our minds.”
Question 2: “Is it Worthy of Your New Nature?”
“Finally brothers…whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure…think about these things.” Philippians 4:8
Advertisers weren’t the first to capitalize on the power of suggestion. That dishonor belongs to a serpent who, from the beginning, has used manipulation and confusion to lure people to live below what we were created to be. Satan loves extremes. At one extreme, he barrages humanity with lies of shame to bury us under fear, guilt, and rejection. At the polar opposite, he boasts lies of supremacy to convince us of all of the ways we ‘deserve’ to be happy on our own terms. One leads to the imposter syndrome of an orphan spirit. The other drowns us in straight up idolatry.
To this, God offers 3 incredible guidelines to help align our imaginations with our identity.
“Is it Noble?”
Noble: “Respectable, worthy of honor, showing wisdom and tested character.”
In aristocratic kingdoms, those belonging to the bloodline of the king were known as “nobles.” From a young age, nobles grew to understand that royal blood flowed through their veins. Their inherited position significantly changed the way they carried themselves in daily life. For starters, nobles did not think like beggars, but as the highly honored children whose inheritance could be counted on. To be a noble is to bid farewell to worry and to trust the provision that comes with belonging to the king. Second, nobles were expected to carry themselves in a manner worthy of the high integrity of their bloodline at all times. It meant something to bear the name they carried. Do you see where we’re headed?
In the Kingdom of God, we have been adopted by the King of all Kings. Royal blood now flows through our veins. We are not beggars, but are His “beloved.” And it means something to carry His name — not some twisted “don’t embarrass your dad” kind of pressure, but as a sincere daily invitation to look like the One whose Name we bear.
“Is it Right?”
Right: “Righteous; In alignment with our true nature.”
I’ve heard it said that “righteousness” can be best understood as “right-use-ness.” To be righteous is to operate in alignment with who and what we were created to be. We all know the disastrous ways sin has distorted our view of God, ourselves, and others, and all of the counterfeit comforts it has led chase, to our own demise.
But “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21)! In Christ, we have somehow actually become righteous. God changed our spiritual DNA at the molecular level, forever imprinting His righteousness upon our hearts. And we will live like who we believe we are! Because of this, we are now encouraged to renew our minds by thinking thoughts that align with our “right” use:
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24
“Is it Pure?”
Pure: “Clean, unmixed, undiluted, unblemished.”
Have you ever tasted a drink where something was just ‘off’? Maybe it was a flat soda, a severely watered down tea, or (heaven forbid) a drink with something floating in it that just didn’t belong there. Each of these is a picture of what it means to be “impure.” Purity is the quality of sincere and untainted devotion.
“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” 2 Corinthians 11:2
All through the Bible, God compares His love for us to a husband and his wife. My wife, Jill, has my whole heart. There is no room there for any other romantic affection or pursuit. Jill has my eyes, my mind, my heart, my affection, and my delight. “Forsaking all others,” she’s my girl. In a world vying to dilute or distort our love for God, it is vital that we do whatever it takes to pursue purity. We can begin by evaluating the contents we allow to stir in our minds, arresting every thought that falls short of sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Eph. 4:1
In Christ, you have become a noble, adored by the King.
You have been restored back to your “right use,” forever.
And you are His chosen love, invited to return the gaze of His affection.
You will live like who you believe you are…and that all starts in your mind.
Thinking Thoughts That Are WORTHY:
Think about your fears, worries, desires, and ongoing silent thoughts and ask:
1. “Am I thinking like a beggar or a ‘beloved?” “Is this thought worthy of who I am in Jesus?”
2. "Could I see Jesus thinking this?” “Does this align with His design and desire for me?”
3. "Does this help me draw closer to Jesus…or is it a counterfeit substitute for what only He can fill?”
Once again, beautiful 😍