How to Take Every Thought Captive: Two Aspects to Consider
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. – 2 Corinthians 10:5, ESV What does this mean? The Message paraphrase provides some insight: The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fairly. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way – never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity. – 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, The Message According to the Message’s author, Eugene Peterson, we take every thought captive by weighing, “every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.” We encounter hundreds (if not thousands) of thoughts in a day. From the moment we wake up we are bombarded with ideas, thoughts, concerns, and choices. Even before we open our eyes the litany of thoughts in our head can be overwhelming. It can feel unmanageable, but we are not without hope. We have all seen the turnstiles used to let people onto the subway. People swipe their cards or pay the fee, and they are let in. What if someone tries to slip through without paying or whose card has expired? The turnstiles don’t work. Taking our thoughts captive is like letting each thought pass through a turnstile. If it is good, beneficial, [...]