Good morning, my brothers! Some of the hardest battles we fight happen inside our own heads. I got caught in one recently, and my wife helped me see what I'd been feeding instead of trusting God. Let's go! 5-min, 7-sec read.
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A few weeks ago, on a Sunday morning before church, I confessed something to my wife that I'm not proud of. I told her that I was discouraged about book sales.
She looked at me puzzled and after a few seconds asked, "I thought you said that numbers didn't matter, that one man was enough?"
She was right. When God led me to start More The Man, and later to write the book, I believed He'd made His definition of success clear. If one man was drawn closer to Jesus, it would be worth it. One man.
Hundreds of copies have sold. Men I've never met have read it and are reaching out to tell me what God's doing in them through it. The Father is doing exactly what I prayed for, and then some, but somewhere in the back of my mind, it still isn't enough.
I've been a performance-driven guy most of my life. I set goals, track progress, and pay close attention to results. I think I'll call my old man Mr. Scoreboard.
In a recent article, I wrote to you about scoreboards. Apparently my Mr. Scoreboard didn't read it, because that Sunday morning before church, he was the only one talking.
The Battle Between Our Ears
Mr. Scoreboard is just the name I've given the voice that battles in my mind. God told me one thing; my old desires shouted another, and the fight between them raged in my head before I'd even had my coffee.
Unfortunately, most of us have a voice like that. Maybe yours isn't about numbers at all. Maybe it's the temptation you've promised God you're done with more times than you can count. The whisper that says you'll never be worth much. The quiet pride that says, "I built all this." The story you keep telling yourself that your wife is the problem. Or the one that's hardest to say out loud: God doesn't care about me anymore.
Nobody else sees these battles. We fight them between our ears, often when we’re alone, tired, or after a rough day. For me at least, it’s often at 3 in the morning, when I can’t get back to sleep, and no one else is awake.
Who's Governing Our Minds?
Paul draws a line in Romans 8 that I'm only beginning to fully comprehend. Look at the word he chooses.
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Governed. Paul asks with that word, who's in charge: the flesh with its old appetites, or the Holy Spirit, who lives in every believer and is making us more like Jesus.
The flesh doesn't always show up as obvious temptation. Sometimes it sounds good at first, or shows up as discouragement, accusation, or pride dressed up as hard work. A man can be faithful to his wife and still let resentment govern his thoughts about her. He can lead a Bible study and still be quietly convinced God has forgotten him.
That's what that Sunday showed me. My hands were doing exactly what God asked, but something else was running my mind in those moments. The problem wasn't how many books I sold. The problem was what I was letting that number mean.
What Are We Feeding?
Five chapters later in Romans 13, Paul attacks the same battle from another angle.
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Older translations say, "make no provision for the flesh." The Greek word carries the idea of planning ahead, stocking the shelves before you need them. In plain English, don't keep the pantry stocked for the very things you're asking God to help you beat.
And if we're honest, brothers, we do it all the time. We pray against lust and keep watching what stirs it. We ask God to heal our marriage, then replay her worst comment all afternoon. We say we believe He loves us, then feed on every failure until we're sure He doesn't.
Not every thought that shows up is a choice. A temptation knocking at the door isn't the same as inviting it in for dinner. But whatever we keep feeding keeps growing, and for me, the pantry looked like checking the sales numbers one more time.
Put On Christ First
Here's the hope in that verse. Paul tells us what to put on before he tells us what to put away. He doesn't start with "try harder." He starts with Jesus.
To put on Christ is to carry who He is into whatever battle we're about to face. Before a hard conversation with our wives, we remember His patience. When pride says, "I did this," we remember a King who knelt and washed feet.
When shame says we're not worth much, we remember the cross. And when the voice says God's stopped caring, we remember the Shepherd who left the ninety-nine to go after one (Luke 15:4).
None of this runs on willpower. We make real choices about what we feed, but the Holy Spirit gives us the power to change as we turn toward Jesus and yield control.
Renewing our minds isn't mostly learning to think less about sin. It's learning to think more about Christ, and love Him more, until the flesh goes hungry.
Feeding on Him
So if we're going to stop stocking the pantry for the flesh, what do we stock it with? Paul tells us.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.
Re-read that list slowly. True. Noble. Right. Pure. Lovely. Admirable. Excellent. Praiseworthy.
The voice of shame doesn't make it. Neither does resentment, late-night scrolling, or Mr. Scoreboard's numbers. But Jesus fits every word, and He's handed us His Word, the Bible, so we can feast on Him every day.
John the Baptist knew a battle like mine. When his followers complained that the crowds were leaving him for Jesus, he didn't count heads. He called it joy and said this:
He must become greater; i must become less.
That's the prayer for every one of these battles. More of Him, less of me. His thoughts instead of mine. His Word, not the world’s. Because as believers we've been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
For me, it looks like opening the Bible before I open anything else. Reading slowly enough for the Word to sink in, not just in one ear and out the other. Memorizing scripture so I can pull it out when I’m doubting, challenged, and discouraged. Making notes in my journal and building altars to God’s work so I can reread Truth for different challenges and be reminded of the victory we have in Jesus.
And when the old voice starts in, pray one honest sentence: Fill me, Holy Spirit.
Mr. Scoreboard will show up again, and so will whatever voice has been loudest in your head. I don't have to argue with mine, and you don't have to argue with yours. We just need to spit it out and feed on something better.
Today, or tomorrow morning, before we put on anything else, let's put on Christ. Then let's open His Word and let Him fill our minds with Himself.
Reflection
Which voice has been loudest in your mind lately? What have you been feeding it?
Action
Each morning this week, open your Bible before you open your phone. Read Philippians 4:8 and a chapter from one of the Gospels. When an old thought shows up during the day, pray one sentence: Fill me, Holy Spirit.
Prayer
Father, You know what I've been feeding. Fill my mind with Your Word and Your thoughts, not mine. More of You, less of me. Fill me, Holy Spirit. Amen.
-Will
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