MONDAY June 21, 2021
The Futility of the Mind
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind....
Ephesians 4:17
Paul warned us about the mind––our thinking. The mind is very strong. Those without Christ are described as having a futility of mind. The word futility means “that which is in vain or aimless.” Without knowing God, life has no purpose––it is worthless. Yet a Christian has purpose in life, and when they die, everything they have done for Christ will count.
The word mind is speaking of the faculty for recognizing moral good and spiritual truth. The Word of God gives instruction to what is right and wrong. However, the natural man, a person without Christ, cannot discern spiritual truth: But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14).
The Psalmist complained because of what he saw. As he began to compare, he observed how evil people prospered and good people suffered. As he lacked a good perspective, he felt sorry for himself until he listened to the Word of God. The Psalmist was able to get the right perspective only by going down to the house of God:
...until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awakes, so, Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image (Psalm 73.17-20).
On hearing the Word of God, the Palmist understood that, even though the wicked may prosper, in time to come they are going to perish––be eternally lost. As the Psalmist had pursued the Lord, he could look forward to eternity––to be in glory with God: You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory (Psalm 73:24).
The saddest road to hell is that which runs under the pulpit, past the Bible through the midst of warnings and invitations.
~J.C. Ryle~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
