A Game of Scrabble!

Every so often, when Kim and I have a bit of free time, we will play the game Scrabble. Those who know the game, know that each player is hoping to form words from the letters on their rack and those already placed on the board. Get the right letters in hand and the words can be many. Get the wrong letters in hand and there’s a chance you might get stuck or end up forming words that bring no more than a few points. 

Of course, the larger your vocabulary the better chance you will have of looking at the letters in your rack and the available letters on the board and come up with words that can be formed. That’s why people who read a lot often do well at the game. The more words they have in their head the more they have to draw from when playing the game.  Depending upon whom I am playing with, I can feel as if my head is filled with lots of words or I can feel as if my head is void of any real vocabulary at all. 

It makes me wonder, what am I putting into my head? After all, whatever I put into my head—i.e., my mind—is going to affect how I think, what I do, and all that comes out of my life—even how many words I can get onto a Scrabble board. The reality is, the things we allow into our minds and the things which we concentrate on with our minds are going to affect us in so many ways. 

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8 – NIV) 

Unfortunately, too often we fill our minds with negative things, impure things, things that are anything but noble, lovely, and pure. And then we wonder why we have such negative and impure thoughts and do things that are can hardly be called noble, lovely and pure. What we put into our minds will eventually affect our lives and come out through the way we speak and the way we live our lives. The things we concentrate on day after day will impact us and those around us in so many ways. The end result is, we will either become positive, faith-filled, kind and loving people who are a blessing to those around us or we will become negative, angry, and even bitter and spiteful people who chase others away. 

So, what are you putting into your head? What kinds of thoughts fill your mind on a regular basis? What have you recently been concentrating on? Let’s heed the words of scripture and think on those things that will cause us to be the kind of people God would have us to be.  

Have a great day! And, maybe pull out that Scrabble board! 

- Pastor Tim Harris