When you first started using a computer you quickly learned a universal truth: if you enter wrong data, you’ll get wrong data. But if you enter correct data, you’ll get correct data. Computer pioneers called this, “GIGO” or “garbage in; garbage out.” And what’s true for computers, is true for the human mind.

What you put in your mind determines what comes out. Did you know that the average person thinks 10,000 separate thoughts a day? That works out to 3.5 million thoughts a year. If you live to be over seventy-five, you’ll have over 26 million different thoughts (encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations p. 1462 ???? is this a footnote?) Every one of these 10,000 daily thoughts represents a decision to think about that particular thought versus something else.

Imagine that one morning someone gives you $10,000 says to you, “Spend the money any way you want, as long as you spend it all before you go to bed tonight.” So, you’d be very careful how you spent the money. Most likely, you’d probably sit down and think and then make a plan. Similarly, the only way to change your thinking is to first analyze what you’re allowing into your mind. What kind of music do you listen to? What radio stations to you flip on in the morning? What kind of movies do you watch? What kinds of books do you read? What do you watch on tv? What about the conversations you have at work? The phone calls? What kind of places do you frequent on the weekend? What are your hobbies? What do you daydream about? Where do you vacation? Drilling down, and getting more specific, what about your secret habits? What kinds of magazines do you read, or look at when you’re at the airport? What about the porn that’s available in the hotel? 2nd Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.(NKJV)

Here’s the point: we each have to ask ourselves what we’re doing on a daily basis to counteract all of the negative propaganda that’s thrown at us? The reason most Christians feel so defeated is that they allow a flood of negative information to flow into their hearts and minds without taking the thoughts captive. Then they expect a two-hour Sunday church service to counteract and wipe away a week’s work of negative influences. So it’s critical that you ask yourself: What are you thinking about and meditating on? What images do you keep in front of you? Do you have a dream wall or a vision board that you view daily? Are you thinking and growing rich? Or doing the opposite? Do you realize that thoughts are tangible things? Hebrews 11:1 AMP says, “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.]

How do we re-direct or re-program the computer in our minds? Watching our associations is very important. 1st Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: evil company corrupts good habits.” Proverbs 13:20 reads, “He who walks with wise men will be wise. The companion of fools will be destroyed.
There are two aspects of associations that we must keep in mind. 1: Associations are powerful. 2: Associations are subtle. If you hang out with friends who love to party, some nights you may find yourself partying just to keep the friendship. If you hang with people who are cynical, you’ll become cynical…What would your life look like if you were the average of the five people you spend the most time with? Please do not miss this principle: You are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are. Proverbs 23:7 NKJV says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Eat and drink! he says to you, but his heart is not with you.”

What you think today, you will become tomorrow. Your mind is the best predictor of your future. so if you think you can’t, you probably can’t or won’t. If you think angry thoughts, your words will surely follow. If you fill your mind with sexual desires, your mind will surely find a way to fulfill those desires. If you dwell on your problems, they’ll soon overwhelm you. If you feel like a victim, you’ll soon become one. If you think low thoughts, don’t be surprised if low-living follows. If you expect defeat you will probably lose. If you focus on how others misunderstand you, you will soon become angry and bitter. And on and on…

Here’s the principle: What goes in must come out. So what goes into your mind and heart will come out and translate into your reality. Remember: you are not what you think you are; but what you think, you are.