To be truly spiritually-minded is to have an eye single to the glory of God. It is possible but requires more than a perfunctory performance of our spiritual duties of praying, reading the scriptures, and attending church meetings. We can do all of these things and still be just skimming the surface of righteous living.
The first step to being spiritually-minded is controlling our input. If we take in garbage, our mind will focus on garbage. If we take in spiritual food, we will focus on the spiritual. Our input is everything that enters our minds, whether it be something we read, see, or hear. Controlling our thoughts is easier than it seems. Once we consciously start focusing on the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ by letting that be what we read, what we listen to and how we entertain ourselves, our thoughts will naturally turn in that direction.
I’m not suggesting that we can’t do anything but sit around and read the Bible all day while listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Our TV does not always have to be tuned to the BYU channel or the Trinity Broadcasting Network. We just have to be sure to tune in often enough to the messages that help us feel the Holy Ghost so that, even when we are doing something else, the Spirit continues to guide our thoughts and feelings. At some point, our spiritual-mindedness will change what we want to listen to or watch, and we may naturally begin to leave out some of what used to be a regular part of our life because it no longer is enjoyable.
To be spiritually-minded means that the flesh is ruled by the spirit. All worldly attractions are filtered through the spiritual protection that we receive from the Holy Ghost. We determine the worth of all that we do by measuring it on the scale of righteousness, or one might say holiness since that was the first part of our Be Happy Like Jesus experience.
“And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son -- The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son -- And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people.” (Mosiah 15:1-5)
These verses say that Jesus is the Father and the Son and that the Son, or the flesh, became subject to the Father, or the spirit. It also reminds us that there is a Father in Heaven and that in becoming subject to the Spirit, Jesus was subject to the Father. What we can learn from this is that flesh becoming subject to the spirit means the child becoming subject to the Father. It is not my spirit, my mind, my will controlling my physical desires and passions. My will or my spirit must be turned over to the Father. His will must take over. Then my flesh, my worldly choices will be subject to His will. Alone, we can never have the true realization of spirit completely dominating the flesh. We will fail every time – eventually. It is like trying to earn salvation and exaltation on our own. There is only so far that we can go. Jesus has to take us the rest of the way through the atonement.
Jesus warned against trying to hide who we are inside by appearing to others to be righteous. Righteousness needs to be the inner force that drives what we do and therefore defines who we are. If we feel the need to disguise our inner selves, we have need to repent. Righteous living serves no purpose if it is done only for appearance sake. To receive a glorious reward, righteous living must be the product of righteous thinking and must proceed honestly from the heart. In the end, all that matters is the true inner self, “for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) We will be judged on who we really are, not who we present to the world or how others perceive us to be.
We must put everything in proper order and realize that everything is spiritual. It is possible to be one with the Savior if our spirit commands our body, if we have become spiritually-minded. We must not only accept Him as our Savior intellectually, but we must allow Him to enter our minds and hearts and change the way we think and feel. By internalizing Him, He becomes part of who we are, and we become part of Him. He actually changes who we are. He changes our hearts or desires. When we truly internalize everything He is, we can no longer live a sinful, carnal life. Our mind will be single to the glory of God.
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