Sit And Think Pt.2

My friend, Jen Lewis sent me this quote after reading “Sit and Think” via email: ” I hear a lot of people say that the fear of death and the fear of public speaking are two of the main fears of my generation. But I disagree. I think it’s the fear of silence. We refuse to turn off our computers, turn off our phones, log off Facebook, and just sit in silence, because in those moments we might actually have to face up to who we really are. We fear silence like it is an invisible monster, gnawing at us, ripping us open and showing us our dissatisfaction. Silence is terrifying. ” – Jeffery Bethke. Another close friend Roche Scott wrote: “Thoughts turn into action; actions into habits and habits into a lifestyle. Thoughts are powerful.” I couldn’t agree more with these statements.

Thinking is not to be scared of. In fact the discipline to be alone with your thoughts is to be embraced. Do you know what it takes to spend 3 hours in solitude wrestling an idea down to the ground? Any professional athlete will tell you that many games are won or lost before they are physically played – that’s because they are won in the mind. The current knowledge economy is based on the premise that those with the know-how will advance and those without it, well, will just be. Know-how is a derivative of organized  thinking. America leads not because of it’s social connected-ness, Denmark does that better. Nor does it lead because of it’s ability to manufacture things,  China does that way better and faster. It leads because of it’s know-how.

Thinking is what makes you different. It’s what separates you from mere animals. Your ability to not just act on impulse, in the spur of the moment, but to take rational steps, under-girded by long term planning. By scheming, by maneuvering, by outsmarting your circumstance. Thinking is also the difference between an owner and an employee. The owner thinks of where the company ought to go while the employee is heads down bringing to life, the thoughts of the owner. Thinking is the difference between a championship team and a championship contender. God gave you the brain that exists inside your skull. It’s safe to assert that if you didn’t need it, He wouldn’t give it to you. To the extent that your thinking is within the confines of God’s word, think away!

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: – Proverbs 23:7