ONE AUTHOR TELLS the story of the world’s most unwanted ship, the Pelicano…

No country in the world wanted her.  No country allowed her to land.  She was a seaworthy ship and had reputable owners.

The problem was that she was filled with 15,000 tons of trash.  It ranged from orange peelings to beer bottles to newspaper and dozens of other items.  She was filled with the 1986 summer trash from Philadelphia.  That’s when the municipal workers went on strike and the trash piled higher and higher.  No one wanted it.  The owners of the Pelicano thought they could make money by transporting it elsewhere.  But no one wanted it.  It was too much and then too old and now possibly toxic.

No one wants a trash-filled ship.  Very few want those in their life whose mind and heart are filled with trash.  Trash contaminates our relationships.  Think of it this way:

Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s acts.
Today’s bigotry is tomorrow’s hate crime.
Today’s anger is tomorrow’s abuse.
Today’s lust is tomorrow’s adultery.
Today’s greed is tomorrow’s embezzlement.
Today’s fear is tomorrow’s reality.

Some folks don’t know we have an option.  Listening to our vocabulary, you’d think we are the victims of our own thoughts.

Do you think we have a choice of what thoughts we entertain or invite in?   Paul said we do: “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).  Our task is to face every thought and say, “Hold it right there.  You are not allowed into my mind!”

The author went on to say, “What if you did that?  What if you took every thought captive?  What if you refused to let any trash enter your mind?

You are not a victim of your thoughts.  You have a vote; you have a choice.  You can exercise thought prevention.  You can also exercise thought permission.  Remember, your thoughts turn into your actions.  (H. Norman Wright and Larry Renetzky)

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23).

Mike Benson