The Mind of Christ

In prison, I can find someone to dislike everywhere. I can see someone I don’t even know and not like them simply because of the way they look, walk, or talk. But the Bible says, “God is love,” and “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (John 4:16-18)
The Apostle Paul defines this kind of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. He says, “Love suffers long… love is kind.” He goes on to list the things that love does and does not do. He ends his definition with the statement, “Love never fails.”
This kind of love sees people through God’s eyes as individuals created in His image. He wants me to love people with the love He has for them – He loved them so much He gave His only Son to save them. (John 3:16-17)
When I am walking in this kind of love, fear is eradicated and failure never comes because love never fails. I have my emotions under control and no one is pushing my buttons. In prison, everyone tries to push your buttons. Whenever I find myself in an emotional situation where someone is trying to push me, instead of popping off I delay my response. Then I ask myself, “How would Jesus handle this situation?”
Don’t misunderstand me, in my natural human love, it is easy to lose my cool and pop off. But when the mind of Christ is directing my steps, He enables me to refrain from the sharp retort, the smart-alecky remark, or the mean comeback. I deliberately discipline my volatile reaction. Jesus was never unkind or mean to anyone. Through His grace, I put a curb on my tongue, but more importantly on my mental attitude – the tongue being its only instrument. I try to fill my thinking with Jesus’ thoughts just as the apostle Paul wrote, “Let this mind be in you which also is in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5)
Inmates are quick to claim, “I have my rights!” Pride and self-centeredness, or just plain evil, make them think, “I can eat twice, I’m hungry. I can cut in line, I’m in a hurry,” or they justify buying something stolen, “I didn’t steal it.”
When you have the mind of Christ, your attitude changes. Christ enables you to lay aside your rights. If you say you follow Christ, you want to live like He did. You allow him to develop an attitude of humility in you, even if you are not likely to get any recognition for your efforts.
The mind of Christ contains love’s thermometer. It does not allow the heat of the moment to get me. It pays no attention to a suffered wrong. It’s not touchy, fretful, or resentful. It does not insist on being right or rejoice at injustice, but rejoices in the truth. I see people the way God does, not for who they are, but for whom they can become in Christ.
I try to see everyone with lovable qualities. I can love my enemies and overcome evil with good. It’s a whole new way of thinking. It’s the mind of Christ. The Bible says, “He who is in you is greater than He who is in the world.” (John 4:4)