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Right Thinking, February 27
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end
for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus
Christ.
1 Peter 1:13
.
The thoughts must be trained. Gird up the loins of the mind that it shall
work in the right direction, and after the order of well-formed plans; then
every step is one in advance, and no effort or time is lost in following vague
ideas and random plans. We must consider the aim and object of life, and ever
keep worthy purposes in view. Every day the thoughts should be trained and
kept to the point as the compass to the pole. Everyone should have his aims
and purposes, and then make every thought and action of that character to
accomplish that which he purposes. The thoughts must be controlled. There
must be a fixedness of purpose to carry out that which you shall undertake....
No one but yourself can control your thoughts. In the struggle to reach
the highest standard, success or failure will depend much upon the character,
and the manner in which the thoughts are disciplined. If the thoughts are well
girded, as God directs they shall be each day, they will be upon those subjects
that will help us to greater devotion. If the thoughts are right, then as a result
the words will be right; the actions will be of that character to bring gladness
and comfort and rest to souls....
Those who move without thoughtful consideration, move unwisely. They
make fitful efforts, strike out here and there, catch at this and that, but it
amounts to nothing. They resemble the vine; its tendrils untrained and left
to straggle out in every direction will fasten upon any rubbish within their
reach; but before the vine can be of any use these tendrils must be broken off
from the things they have grasped, and trained to entwine about those things
which will make them graceful and well formed....
By the ever-learning student new light, new ideas, new gems of truth will
be found, and eagerly grasped. He thinks; the laws of the mind require him to
think. The human intellect gains expansion and vigor and acuteness by being
taxed. The mind must work or it will dwindle. It will starve unless it has
fresh subjects to think upon. Unless it is made to think hard it will surely lose
its power of thinking.—
Letter 33, February 27, 1886
, to a minister working
in Europe.
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