Master Mind: Thinking Like God

By Dwight J. Olney

When we check-in to this world, our thoughts and God's thoughts are light years apart. It is our natural inclination to set our mind on earthly things, to have tiny thinking. For thousands of years, such paltry thinking has destroyed the lives of countless paupers and princes alike. A radical solution is needed for this grave problem. We need a renovation of our minds; we need to exchange our presumptuous worldly thoughts for the thoughts of God. A very smart man once wrote - "Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think" (Romans 12:2 NLT). It's no wonder that God's message for humanity starts with repentance, a word which literally means "a change of mind." Doing it right is not so much about trying harder as about thinking differently. What is needed in this troubled world is not more God-thinkers but more God-thinking. When we begin to think like God, we begin to move in harmony with our Creator, much like a married couple of forty or fifty years, who act out their lives as a single entity, always seeming to know what the other is thinking. In such a place with God, there is utter freedom and indescribable peace and joy. There is also now nothing that can truly hurt that soul.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Word Alive Press
• Release date: Jan 4, 2015
• ISBN: 9781770691728

Book preview

Conclusion

Introduction

There is probably nothing that sounds more presumptuous than claiming to know the mind of God. After all, does he himself not say, I don’t think the way you think (Isaiah 55:8 MSG)?

Understanding the great concepts of history, science, and technology is a challenge in itself. Comprehending the mental musings of profound thinkers like Kierkegaard or Einstein is almost impossible for the average person. How, then, can frail creatures groping around in intellectual translucence ever hope to capture the deep thoughts of the Creator? Again he says, For as the sky soars high above the earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think (Isaiah 55:9 MSG).

So why write a book such as this? Is it not too lofty, let alone arrogant, to believe that we can penetrate the thinking of the Almighty, the one who holds every molecule together within the atomic structure of Mount Everest as well as the human body?

Indeed, when we check-in to this world, our thoughts and God’s thoughts are light years apart. It is our natural inclination to set our minds on earthly things, to have tiny thinking. We open our eyes as newborns and see the world around us. We see earthly things. We learn naturally to think like a human. Everything in the world around us reinforces that limited, tiny thinking. "For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions" (1 John 2:16).

All that is in the world focuses our thinking on ourselves and our selfish desires. For thousands of years, such paltry thinking has destroyed the lives of countless paupers and princes alike. The stories are well-known—from the movie star who takes her own life to end the pain of unfulfilling Hollywood fame to the poor elderly gentleman down the street who just dies of old age, alone and unnoticed. The Bible warns us: if our thinking is limited, we are in trouble. For those who set their mind only on earthly things, their destiny is destruction (Philippians 3:19 NIV).

A radical solution is needed for this grave problem. We need a brain transplant; we need to exchange our worldly thoughts for the thoughts of God. The Bible is very clear on this matter: Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think (Romans 12:2). It’s no wonder that the heart of God’s message for humanity starts with repentance, a word which literally means ‘a change of mind.’ Doing it right is not so much about trying harder as about thinking differently. Right thinking leads to right living.

The Bible states a well-established fact about human behavior that very few psychologists or motivational speakers would ever challenge: for as he thinks within himself, so he is (Proverbs 23:7 NASB). It is very hard to behave differently than we think. Our lives eventually mold themselves into the shape of our thoughts.

Courageous people do not spend the majority of their days thinking fearful thoughts. Wealthy people do not acquire more assets by thinking poverty thoughts. When someone spends a good part of their day thinking about how useless they are, very little success or personal growth is likely to emerge.

Now, I concede that there is a whole theological spectrum of opinion regarding the power of positive thinking, but that is not the main issue here. The truth of the matter still remains—our thoughts have an indelible power over each of our minute daily decisions and actions, which, in turn, influences the direction of our entire lives, which consequently determines the quality of life we experience.

A good friend of mine once said, We cannot do right until we think right. We cannot think right about anything until we think right about God. And I would add that we cannot think right about God until we start thinking like God thinks.

The good news proclaimed within this book is that it is possible to learn to think like God. Though it does not come naturally, God will reveal to us his thought patterns through a careful study of his Word and through an examination of his work in human lives. But these insights do not necessarily emerge instantly; sometimes we must scrutinize the story carefully in search of what God is actually thinking in this or that particular situation.

The thoughts presented within this work are all based on biblical narratives or a collection of passages. Sometimes, personal experiences will be used to illustrate what seems to be the point of the scriptural principal. Let me declare that all points are certainly presented with a great deal of humility.

This book in no way pretends to be exhaustive regarding the thoughts of God; such a claim would be embarrassing, certainly, and most likely blasphemous. But it does claim to offer us a chance to begin thinking some of God’s thoughts about us, our lives, and our future.

Also, one thing needs to be very clear—this book is not a treatise concerning thinking about God, but rather, a challenge to begin thinking like God; there is an enormous difference between the two. Far too many theologians have spent too much time merely thinking about God. And the practice of simply thinking about God frequently results in a temporary elation of awe and wonder that passes once the television set is turned back on.

What is needed in this troubled world is not more God-thinkers but more God-thinking. There is a need for a whole host of humanity to rise up and live lives that reflect a new kind of thinking: thinking like God. When people think like God, they begin to move in harmony with their Creator, much like a married couple of forty or fifty years who act out their lives as a single entity and almost always seem to know what the other is thinking. When one moves in harmony with God, there is utter freedom and indescribable peace and joy. There is also now nothing that can truly hurt that soul.

Chapter 1

Don’t make me prove I exist.

Only fools say in their hearts: ‘There is no God.’ ~Psalm 14:1

In the beginning, God . . .

That’s how the story starts.

But how else could it have started? It is silly and almost blasphemous to ask the question: If you were God, how would you have started the story? That would be a human attempt to create options for God’s thoughts.

There are no options for how God thinks about things. He thinks about things the way he does because he is God. "Look now; I myself am he! There is no other god but me! I am the one who kills and gives life; I am the one who wounds and heals; no one can be rescued from my powerful hand!" (Deuteronomy 32:39).

The revelation of God to man does not begin with a litany of arguments, hopefully trying to prove his existence to a human jury. No. It begins with a simple assumption that he is, and that he is the supreme Creator. God does not scramble to pull together a case to make his presence among us believable; he just starts talking about what he has been up to lately. There is a confidence there, not in the human sense, but still a confidence indeed.

Any other beginning to the one true story of life would taste bland and feel trivial, even embarrassing. The supreme and all-powerful Maker of Everything needs no introduction, for he himself is the source of everything. Such a notion of God’s credentials needing verification smacks of the absurdity of Jeremiah’s clay pots demanding explanations and answers from the potter.

God enters the room with full security and full authority, accountable to no one. When unqualified or insecure people enter a room, they do so either with an apologetic, cowering posture or with great bombastic flair, drawing attention to themselves in order to gain some control over the complex dynamics and emotions of the culture in the room that they find so threatening. Insecure humans attempt to validate and justify their worth or authority by bragging about their qualifications in both subtle and overt manners.

God enters the room with a posture that simply assumes his existence and his loving omnipotence that is purposefully directed towards establishing a home for his creation. Any other entry would be wrong, a violation of his nature and character.

There is no insecurity in God; there is no tentativeness. There is no question as to his ability or clout. He answers to no one, and no one can thwart his plans.

The purpose of this book is to help us learn to think God’s thoughts so that we can operate in synergy with our Creator. And an important part of that process is differentiating between the way we think naturally as fallen humans and the way God thinks.

Human thoughts, in their natural, unredeemed state, can cause us to stumble and fall short of our goal; they will continually hinder us on our journey. I am reluctant to say they will hinder us from arriving at our destination, because learning to think like God is a process that will never end during our earthly saga. Nevertheless, along this journey we need to recognize human thoughts for what they are. We need to be able to stop ourselves and others in mid-conversation and say, Hey, wait a minute. That is how a human thinks, not how God thinks. We must learn to see these potholes and step around them.

A human approach to the revelation of the Creator would have looked different. Instead of the short, powerful "In the beginning, God . . ." we would have plunged into an entire Apologetics course. We would want belief in God to be shown as rational, as pragmatic, as meeting the very needs of the creation. But while all of these things are true, they are more man-centered than God-centered—and that is bad.

By starting from an Apologetics stance, we are making two errors: we are elevating man’s opinion of a matter over God’s presence and we are misrepresenting God by putting him on the defensive, as if his existence truly needs to be proven before we can move forward. Even the word Apologetics—the discipline of defending the rationality of religious faith—is rooted in the notion of apologizing. I’m sorry, but could you possibly take some time to consider these facts to see if you think they might be true?

Please do not misunderstand me—I see the role and value of Apologetics in church history. I have, at times, been inspired and encouraged by Josh McDowell’s Evidence That Demands a Verdict (a courtroom approach to Apologetics) and Cornelius Van Til’s In Defense of the Faith (a philosophical approach to Apologetics), but they do not make people believe in God.

Sometimes I wonder what God thinks when he watches us scurrying around trying to come up with the perfect explanation for his existence. Is he amused by us coming to his defense? Does he think it’s cute, the way we would chuckle over a little child’s defense of the attributes of his dad in a playground scuffle? Or is he saddened because what used to be so obvious in times past (that God is) now requires mental gymnastics of seismic proportions to convince the skeptic? The case for Christianity will forever be promulgated by zealous advocates, but people truly believe in God when they submit their will to him, not just their intellect.

Humanity will never cease to debate the topic of God’s existence, but thankfully, God will never lower himself to enter that arena. When Job, a righteous man, demanded that God show up and explain the unusual treatment he had been experiencing, God did the ultimate divine thing: he refused to answer Job’s questions. He does not have to justify himself, nor should he. If God has to answer to man, he is not God. And I would even venture so far as to say if his existence begs proving, then he is not worth believing in.

Nowhere in the Scriptures does God try to prove he really exists. The Bible takes the fact of God for granted. Anyone who doubts this interpretation of God’s thinking about his own existence needs to re-examine the personal name that he goes by from the earliest pages of the Old Testament—Yahweh—I Am. The assumption, the divine confidence—it’s right in his name.

Because God thinks this way about his own existence, it can be a very bad move on our part to make him prove to us that he is real. When we demand that God put on a display of validation for our satisfaction, we are treading on dangerous ground. We may likely hear the words: I am God. Don’t make me prove that I exist. You may not like the proof I give you.

Those scenarios never went well for biblical characters who took on God in a proof show.

When God began to reveal his presence and power to the Egyptians near the end of the Israelite captivity, Pharaoh hardened his heart to the Lord’s command. And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go (Exodus 5:2). In effect, he was saying to God, Bring it on! Prove to me that you exist. So God did bring it on; and he brought it on again, and again, until the ravished leader submitted to God’s will.

But the scary part of the Exodus story is the fact that, as the plagues unveiled, God himself began to harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he could not respond properly. Pharaoh first hardened his own heart to the revelation of God and his existence (Exodus 8:15, 8:19, 8:32), but then God hardened his heart (Exodus 11:10) so that he would become an even bigger spectacle of the existence of the one true God and his irresistible power (Romans 9:17). In the words of God himself, "I am doing all this so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth" (Exodus 9:14 NASB).

Humanity demanding anything of God is terribly pretentious and presumptuous. To require that God show himself in this or that manner is downright dangerous. Whether it be the prophets of Baal at Elijah’s barbeque or Ananias and Sapphira at the Acts 5 church offertory, ignoring the righteous omnipresence of God or challenging God to show himself is just plain foolish and it can cost you your life.

The psalmist rightly says, The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’ (Psalm 10:4 NASB). Every thought of the wicked is based on, and influenced by, this erroneous and dangerous presumption that everything in the universe just arrived here by fluke.

If we were to begin to think like God, we would be quick to assume his existence and think very little about trying to prove it. But now, I know what you are saying. What about honest and sincere requests for God to reveal himself? What about the wounded and hurting soul that is reaching out with all their remaining strength, sobbing, My life so far has been an incredible and indescribable living hell; God are you really there?

When the request for proof pours from the lips of a bowed head and a bent knee, God often graciously reveals himself to the one in need. God, in his mercy, seems to respond to the heart-cries of humble humans who ask for a sign: God, if you really exist, reveal yourself to me.

God knows us. He knows that we are weak, that we are but dust. And he responds to broken hearts and contrite spirits who truly want to know and submit to him. But they, like everyone, must come to him in the simple faith of a child. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).

An appropriate sign may be given; a timely miracle may arrive. But these still mean nothing without the faith component that God demands. Besides, signs and wonders can always be attributed to chance or unusual circumstance—or even the devil himself. And don’t forget what Jesus said to Thomas: You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me (John 20:29).

No matter how destitute, we cannot come to God on our terms, demanding that certain epistemological or circumstantial criteria be met. We must come to him on his terms, and that means simply believing he exists, even when our state of affairs may make us think otherwise.

The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that a logical and systematic examination of creation will assure us that God is real and that he is divinely powerful (1:20). But sometimes life in this fallen world is so horrid, its victims are unable to analyze anything logically or systematically. Sometimes there is more pain than anything else.

There are no easy answers. But there is a path to pursue—a transformation of the mind that leads us to think more like God. This can never be the wrong answer. Assume he exists and that he is your loving Creator. Cry out to him for faith and seek a personal revelation or confirmation from him deep within your soul. This kind of humble submission to God often generates something different than litigious proof. It generates an intangible peace that he truly is there and that he is caring for you amidst your sorrow and trauma. Do not demand, just humbly ask.

Chapter 2

Fear me, or fear everything else.

Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands. ~Matthew 10:28 MSG

For six seasons, NBC aired its highly charged scare me/gross me out reality show entitled Fear Factor. Several times I came across an episode while channel-surfing. On one such occasion, I watched a part of a show where the contestants were consuming large amounts of raw calf brains within a specified time period. It was gross. Sometimes contestants were required to eat even more disgusting animal body parts in an attempt to overcome their worst fears and win the monetary grand prize.

Whether it was eating something revolting, sliding across a cable suspended between two high office towers, or enduring thousands of cockroaches swarming all over the contestant’s body and head, Fear Factor preyed upon our emotions and our fascination with fear in order to get us to watch the show.

It is bizarre that fear has always been a part of our entertainment—from the Roman gladiators to Hitchcock’s thrillers to twenty-first century reality shows. Our fascination with playfully scaring ourselves stands in ironic contrast