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Several years ago, I attended a seminar on driving safety, which was particularly relevant to my job at the time, as it required frequent travel between different sites. One statement from the speaker has stayed with me ever since: “The eyes can’t see what the mind doesn’t know.”  He illustrated this with an example of a banana peel on the floor. Many people walked by without noticing the hazard, until one individual came along, picked it up, and threw it away. This example highlights that if we’re unfamiliar with something, we might not recognize it, even if it’s right in front of us. Indeed, our perceptions are influenced by what we have in our minds.

This principle also applies to our Christian faith. As Christians, it is crucial to nourish our minds with heavenly things, as we are instructed in Philippians 4:8,  ^“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Our behaviour is shaped by the belief (or faith) system we adopt. Therefore, what we feed our minds influences both our perception and actions. In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul reminds us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we can prove what is good, acceptable, and the perfect will of God. This means that cultivating a godly mindset allows more light to shine through our eyes (Matthew 6:22), “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”

It’s essential that we feed our minds with God’s Word, His promises, and teachings, so we can view our lives and circumstances from God’s perspective, rather than our own. It will also help us to see the spiritual hazards like the deceptions and temptations that were set before us by Satan.

As the hymn goes —

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,

live in me from day to day,

by His love and pow’r controlling

all I do and say.

As stated in Philippians 2:5-9, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name”, let us earnestly seek to have the mind of Jesus Christ. While the world may say, “Seeing is believing,” for us as Christians, the truth is, “Believing (having faith in Christ) is seeing.”