“Early one rainy morning in Dayton, Ohio, during a meeting of sales and advertising executives for the National Cash Register Company, Thomas J. Watson Sr. was frustrated with his colleagues; they were having an off day. He strode forward in hopes of motivating the group to generate a few solid ideas for a campaign to boost sales. What came out of his mouth that morning in 1915 was nothing short of a scolding. “The trouble with every one of us is that we don’t think enough. We don’t get paid for working with our feet — we get paid for working with our heads,” he intoned in a note-less lecture that continued for several minutes. “Knowledge is the result of thought, and thought is the keynote of success in this business or any business.” (Click here) Hence T-H-I-N-K became an NCR slogan and later an IBM slogan. It is still written on many posters, and placards on office desks today.
Everybody thinks, but not everybody thinks rationally or critically.
The Problem
Below I mention only a few of the pathetic incidences of people, governments, etc., not thinking before acting. Unfortunately, there are millions to choose from. Just read the daily news and when you do, T-H-I-N-K!
With the World in General
Last year, British Columbia became the first province in Canada to decriminalize the use of hard drugs as part of its efforts to tackle a deadly opioid crisis. (click here) Guess what? It was recently reported that it’s not working. I wonder why? T-H-I-N-K
…the Oregon Department of Education unanimously voted to remove a requirement for Oregon high schoolers to demonstrate basic mastery in reading, writing, and mathematics to graduate. The requirement, which was most often met using students’ standardized test results, has been paused since 2020. (click here)
I can imagine how failing to meet these requirements is an embarrassment to some students, so just remove the requirement and solve the problem. Really? I don’t know what to say about this except that maybe the DOE can’t read or write. They certainly don’t T-H-I-N-K
With our Dear President and Other Elected Officials
I can easily understand why the Bible admonishes us to pray for our elected officials.
Biden made us more dependent on Russian uranium. If Biden wants to speed Americans’ transition from fossil fuels to electricity, we will need more nuclear power. Yet the president restricted development on more than 1 million acres of land that includes the only U. S. source of high-grade uranium ore. Since the United States is the largest purchaser of Russian-enriched uranium, the move increases our dependence on Russia at a time when we are trying to isolate Vladimir Putin. Mr. President please T-H-I-N-K.
In fiscal 2023, the record for the most encounters at the southern border was broken for the third straight year. Just before Christmas, there were more than 12,600 migrant encounters in a single day — the highest total ever recorded. A December Wall Street Journal poll found that 64 percent disapprove of Biden’s border policies, while just 27 percent approve. Yet we continue. T-H-I-N-K
On Easter Sunday 2024, President Biden announced that March 31st would would become National Transgender Awareness Day. He probably won the support of many Transgenders but I think he probably lost the support of most Christians. What do you T-H-I-N-K
With Christians
We Christians need to pick up this catchword (T-H-I-N-K) and apply it to ourselves. From my perspective many of us have become complacent, sitting on our hands and failing to Think. We say we are Christians but do not participate more than going to Church, occasionally; Praying, occasionally; and occasionally reading from our Bible. Our thinking is that “We are safe”. We claim that we are going to Heaven and we let our chosen “five-fold ministers” (Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists, Prophets, and Apostles) do it all.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” (Proverbs 18;21 ESV)
“Those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue what benefits themselves. But those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities. For the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset controlled by the Spirit finds life and peace. ” (Romans 8:5-6 TPT)
“But what comes out of your mouth reveals the core of your heart. Words can pollute, not food. You will find living within an impure heart evil ideas, murderous thoughts, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, lies, and slander.” (Matthew 15:18-19 TPT)
T-H-I-N-K
How You Think Will Determine Who You Become
“As in water, face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.” (Proverbs 27:10 ESV)
“Every tree will be revealed by the quality of fruit that it produces. Figs or grapes will never be picked off thorn trees. People are known in this same way. Out of the virtue stored in their hearts, good and upright people will produce good fruit. But out of the evil hidden in their hearts, evil ones will produce what is evil. For the overflow of what has been stored in your heart will be seen by your fruit and will be heard in your words.” (Luke 6: 44-45 TPT)
“For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…” (Romans 1:20-32 ESV)
Trying to be like someone else or trying to act stronger, smarter and more important, just to “feel good” about ourselves, are masks we wear to make people see of us.
Thinking, like the tongue, can bring you life or death. A dear friend once told me “Beware of the masks you wear, they will soon begin to fit.” This mask comes from your thoughts. Thoughts give life to an idea, ideas will bring you life or death.
What Does Critical Thinking Offer
Failure to Think first, before acting, ignores the responsibility of Godly obedience. Critical thinking can only be achieved through knowledge of God’s Word, and failure to apply God’s Word wisely to today’s troubles. Failure to believe in God, as many historical people have, has brought us to the problems we face today that are mentioned above.
Still many ignore History. Some still try to change history via social media and schools, including textbooks. Recently on Easter Sunday hundreds of Bibles were burned outside a Church in Tennessee. This was an attempt to demonstrate that the Bible is not relevant. These types of incidences, whether it be from our elected officials, teachers or leaders in our “free world” will continue to increase “till Kingdom Come” (click here).
The Solution
- Take care of your own first. By our own, I mean the Church. We must: study, preach, write, disciple, and act. On every occasion possible reach out. Those who are contrary do not T-H-I-N-K. They need to be shown the truth and The Way as it is recorded. If they do not listen, drop them and move on to the next. Do not stop. We must save our own.
- Expose this failure to Think to our own, the Church, and then the World. In doing so, some, through the power of the Holy Spirit, may be saved. But, do not waste your time on those who just want to argue. Pray for them and let our Lord have His way with them. We cannot “Save” anybody. This can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit. You will be ridiculed, persecuted, and shunned. That’s the way “it is written”
- Never be afraid to counsel. If you counsel by the Word of God you cannot fail. Beware, however, that God’s Word has been softened by our world and its legal systems. There is a cultural change that is replacing Biblical responsibility with worldly thinking. For example, we will be jailed today if we spank our children for rebellion. So we have to replace the Word “spare the rod and spoil the child (Proverbs 13:24 ESV)” with discipline by restrictions. Therefore we “ground them”, take away their TV, video games, and cell phone, and censor their internet and social media. This is giving way to a softening of wisely applying God’s word. They did not have these “things” in Biblical days, therefore we justify our actions. However, we must realize God’s Word does not change with cultural changes or our way of “thinking”. His Word remains true forever. It makes no difference if you think, something is right or wrong. His Word is always right. We cannot fear applying His Word. In today’s “culture,” Proverbs 13:24 is very difficult to apply. Coupling this Proverb with Proverbs 3:11-12 does not make it any easier but it does lend to some understanding.
“My child, when the Lord God speaks to you, never take his words lightly, and never be upset when he corrects you. For the Father’s discipline comes only from his passionate love and pleasure for you. Even when it seems like his correction is harsh, it’s still better than any father on earth gives to his child.” (TPT)
You must apply His Word to your child in the same manner He applies His Word to you. It will be much tougher for your child if he is allowed to mature in rebellion. The world’s discipline, although the world denies it, is much stronger and will lead to death if there is no repentance. Think about this. How we raise children is an excellent example but there are many others. It will never get easier. T-H-I-N-K
Conclusion
As time moves forward and cultures change so do mores along with the way people think. There is a standard we can rely on. Back to the basics, back to the Word of God by which thinking should never change. We who think this way are called conservatives and in some cases regressive, that is, going back to the old ways of thinking and not “Keeping up with the times”. The world tries to convince us that progressiveness is the way to go. However, progressive thinking is found lacking in many ways. Foremost is the lack of acceptance of the Word of God as an Absolute standard (To see my paper on Authority-Absolutism-and-Woke: (click here). Do I have to say more? There is so much I can say but there is no need to take up your time if you only take what I have written and apply, T-H-I-N-K to all your actions.
Enough said
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16 ESV)
