AS A MAN Thinketh by James Allen is arguably the best non-inspired book ever written on the power of thought…

Allen compared the mind to a garden and its owner to a master gardener.  A good character is not the product of chance any more than a beautiful garden could happen by accident.  Integrity is a natural result of continued effort in right thinking.

The overarching theme of As a Man Thinketh is that individuals control the development of their character through controlling their thoughts.  At the very moment one chooses his thoughts, he also chooses his destiny.  Allen’s garden analogy well-illustrates this cause and effect relationship.  Just as plants come from seeds, actions grow from thoughts.  The challenging part is getting the right seeds into the garden of the mind.  Useless seeds find their way there all by themselves, but useful ones must be purposely planted.  Good thoughts must be deliberately sown and carefully nurtured to produce the fruit of righteousness.  Bad thoughts must be eradicated in the same way one removes weeds to preserve a well-kept garden.  Good thoughts cannot produce bad acts and bad thoughts cannot produce good acgts.  The law of sowing and reaping is as true in the mental and moral realm as it is in the plant world (Galatians 6:7-8).  Holiness, like husbandry, requires planning, effort and diligence.  (Aubry Johnson)

“Keep your heart will all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”  Proverbs 4:23; cf. Romans 12:2

–Mike Benson