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A dirty mind? This blog probably isn’t what you were expecting.

Our default position would be that a dirty mind refers to pornography, sleazy sexual behavior and thoughts, things like that. There’s that age-old stereotype of the “dirty old man.” Actually, dirty old men start out as dirty young men, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

For our little discussion, I’ll broaden that dirty mind definition. Try this: “A dirty mind is apparent when a person dwells on the bad instead of the good, thereby filling their head with the filth and junk of the world instead of what is pure, wholesome, and encouraging.”

So. Do you have a dirty mind? And if so, what’s the cure?

First, some possible symptoms:

1. You have trouble focusing on gratitude. You are seldom mindful of things to be thankful for.
2. You leap to the worst case scenario.
3. You “borrow trouble” – in other words, you spend way too much time fretting about what might happen as opposed to what is actually happening in the present.
4. You gravitate toward the news way too frequently, and regret it when you do.
5. You spend time exclusively with people of like mind, and tend to reject other people’s’ thoughts and opinions.
6. You tend to forget the times when you’ve been amazingly blessed in the past.
7. You think people who don’t see things the way you do are naive or misguided.
8. Many things that gave you joy just aren’t as meaningful anymore.
9. Depression and anxiety are frequent companions.
10. You avoid things that might alter your mindset – in other words, your mind is made up and slammed shut tighter than a bear trap.

This, of course, is not a scientific or sociological set of symptoms. It’s just my personal observations.

If many of these are true of you, you simply have to determine the set of your own mind. Do you have a dirty mind? Be honest with yourself. You won’t have to share with the rest of the class.

Want to be done with your dirty mind? Here’s my fix.

And it isn’t original with me. I’m pulling from some ancient script, found in Philippians 4:8. This may be really familiar to you. If that’s so, pretend like you’ve never seen it before … it’ll make it more practical.

1. Embrace the truth. The problem in our wired, social media, googleable world is that you can believe whatever you like, and claim it as truth, because you’ve researched and found verification for what you want to believe. God’s truth, however, isn’t subject to debate. God has no gray areas. The problem comes when we apply our subjective opinions to God’s objective scriptural statements. I’m allowing room for differences in interpretation, of course. Do this: embrace the things you know to be right (based on orthodoxy and centuries of theological scholarship), and don’t sweat the things you don’t “get.” Finding God’s truth isn’t like an Easter egg hunt. It’s just not that hard to find.
2. Look for what’s honorable. There are awful people in the world, and true to their nature, they do awful things. Don’t let them take up residence in your head. Rather, look for folks who are doing the right, moral, and constructive thing. That may be subjective from where you sit, but again, line up what you’re seeing with scripture. If someone is doing something that the Bible informs you is sinful, what they’re doing isn’t honorable. Oh, and apply that same standard to yourself.
3. Know what is just. Hear me – what is just may not appear fair. At God’s hands, all of mankind can expect either justice or mercy. Neither is a negative. I prefer mercy, but that’s something God gives as a free gift and isn’t dependent on my actions or mindset. And if you see things around you that are wrong, or people who are wicked, don’t fret. God will deal with them in a manner consistent with His nature, and if not in this life, the next. It’s out of your hands. Trust Him with this. He knows things.
4. Be pure. I could take this in several different directions, but let’s go with this: If you’re a believer, you know what’s pure and what’s garbage. Don’t do garbage. This would play well into our generally accepted concept of what a dirty mind is. Here’s my criteria: before I do anything, watch anything, or say anything, my prayer is, “God, thank you for giving me the opportunity to do what is I’m about to do, or watch, or say.” Works for me. Every time.
5. Gaze on loveliness. I’m not talking strictly about what you see. This would include what you can experience. I can look out my window  and see the sun peeking through the clouds. There is some blue sky after a stormy night. The sun rose without a hitch this morning and most likely will set this evening. Lovely. Conversely, if you spend time gazing at news footage of riots, or political maneuvering in the halls of Congress, and do this on an endlessly-repeating loop – dude, let me pray for you. Find a nature show on the Discovery Channel.
6. Find the commendable. Good people are doing good things. Be a good person yourself and do good things. Don’t be that person that lights up a room when they leave. I swear, I read posts on social media and wonder, “When was the last time you saw something that pleased or encouraged you?” Look for the positive people, who say and do things that are worth bragging on. The other folks? Ignore them. As an aside – do you realize just how much power you have personally on social media? If someone is dragging you down, exposing you to negativity and doom, no one is making you read what they post. And if you can’t keep scrolling, snooze them (on Facebook) or block them altogether. Easy peasy. Or go to another platform. Just don’t make that move lightly, because if you’re not careful, you’re admitting that the bad guys got the best of you. I’ll support you no matter what.
7.  Moral excellence is a big deal, and worth pursuing in yourself and others. Are there universal standards for moral excellence? C.S. Lewis does a deep dive into this in Mere Christianity, and it’s so helpful! Here’s my simple counsel, and it actually comes from Anna in Frozen 2 – do the next right thing. There are some things you may not be able to excel in, for whatever reason. But – we can all be morally excellent, or at least make that our goal.
8. What is praiseworthy? Find it and praise God. Hey, praiseworthy things are abundantly out there. Little things – a good breakfast, warm blankets, puppies, kids selling lemonade, and certainly and foremost, God Himself. You just have to embrace that!

That dirty mind? God can clean that up for you. You just have to cooperate and obey.

In other words – dwell on these things.

Be blessed. Comments and shares are, as always, encouraged and welcomed.