Genesis 6:5 – “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  NKJV

Now to address the question, “What Is God’s Attitude toward Our Imagination?”  I believe the Bible speaks to this in many ways.  We know from scripture that God wants to make us free of every thought that brings distress, anxiety, doubt or fear.  The Imagination is a powerful tool in helping us make tremendous strides in our advancement in God and His purpose for our lives.

A strong word of caution – – We MUST keep our Imagination under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and consistent with God’s written word.  Imagination’s purpose is not manipulation but faith.  As our text declares, God says the imaginations of man’s heart and they were evil. This is speaking of fallen man’s corrupted imagination which caused the world to be destroyed by a flood saving only Noah and his household.  When the flood ended, God was giving mankind a second chance but God cautioned Noah in Genesis 8:21, “The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”  Man, in his depraved state, was subject to the deception of the devil and the perversion of his ability to imagine and dream dreams.  If you recall the Tower of Babel incident in Genesis 11:6 where God said, “Now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do.”  In Deuteronomy 31:21 we read, “Many evils and troubles have befallen them… for I know their imagination.”

Thus, we clearly see God’s attitude toward the misuse of the imagination and that is emphasized in Proverbs 6:18, listing a heart that devises wicked imaginations as one of the seven abominations God hates.  Jeremiah 23:17 God speaks of the negativity of those who walk after the imagination of their own heart.  The Holy Spirit will always nudge our hearts to remember that we should never use our imagination to picture things God has forbidden.  The demonic suggests, “If it feels good or looks good go for it.”

In pursuit of our question about God’s attitude toward man’s imagination we come to another question, “Why does God hate an evil imagination?”  Our ability to imagine is connected with our original creation.  “Let us make man in our image…”  God created an image and as a result, the power of God is in us.

We have to recognize the power of the imagination in reviewing the scientific accomplishments of man in just the past fifty years.  Men see things and then invent them.  Our minds are battlegrounds and the imagination is a trophy to be won!  The imagination is one of the tools or vehicles God uses to enable us to picture what He is doing or wants to do.  Directed by the Holy Spirit it is valuable to the Kingdom.  Directed by lust or the flesh is puts us in direct conflict with the purpose and principles of God’s Kingdom.

Let me explain it this way.  The devil did not try to force Eve to disobey God.  He simply maneuvered her into thinking about it.  He suggested the benefits she should consider and she pictured them in her mind.  Eve thought about the proposed benefits and as she looked at the forbidden fruit she did so with a new interest and perception.  IT LOOKED GOOD.  Remember the fruit had not changed one iota but her thoughts had.

There are those that proclaim, and I have been guilty, that “we are only responsible for what we do with our thoughts and we cannot control what thoughts come to our minds.”  I want to declare that is false!  Now before you toss me out, let me go further.  We are taught in scripture to bring every thought into immediate captivity to Jesus.  We are responsible for our thoughts.  Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts… and see if there be any wicked way in me.”  1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man; I put away childish things.”   If we are to bring every thought “captive” to the obedience of Christ how can we not be responsible, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, for our thoughts?

 

 

That is spiritual progress and maturity.  We need to renounce the idea that Christians cannot control what they think.  We can and must cut off thoughts before they find a lodging place.  We may not be what we think we are but we are what we think.  Our Lord demonstrated His ability to know the thoughts of His hearers as evidenced in Matthew 9:4.  Jesus held them responsible for their thoughts not simply what they did with them.

Romans 8:6 – “For to be carnally minded is death: but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Philippians 2:5 – “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Was Jesus’ mind perfectly pure?  Joshua was instructed to MEDITATE on God’s Law and that shaping of his thoughts would bring success.  God has given us authority over our thoughts and we do not have to allow the devil to attempt to sow seeds of doubt and deception.  You do not have to accept thoughts that are contrary to the word of the covenant of God.  The carnal mind is an enemy of God as Romans 8 declares and we need to allow the Holy Spirit to purge our minds so that the mind of Christ is in us and then we can use our Imagination for God, good and the kingdom.

God bless you as you go through this wonderful day in Him!