Saturday, November 7, 2009
“All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts.” James Allen
You might not recognize the name James Allen, but his works have had a major influence on the self-improvement industry. Author of 20 works before dying at the age of 48, his best known work was a booklet entitled, As a Man Thinketh. Published in 1902, the title comes from Proverbs 23:7, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Allen encouraged readers to make their dreams become a reality through the power of thought.
You might not recognize the name James Allen, but his works have had a major influence on the self-improvement industry. Author of 20 works before dying at the age of 48, his best known work was a booklet entitled, As a Man Thinketh. Published in 1902, the title comes from Proverbs 23:7, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Allen encouraged readers to make their dreams become a reality through the power of thought.
Inspired by Allen, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale blended his Christian beliefs into a message of positive thinking pioneering what became known as Christian Psychology. Peale lived by the words, “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” The writings of both Allen and Peale were pre-cursors of positive psychology and the positive thinking movement today.
Didn’t the Apostle Paul preach the same message of the power of positive thinking in his letter to the Philippians?
8Finally, brothers, 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. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8 & 9
In this chapter Paul urges Christians not to worry about anything but to trust God. In these verses Paul encourages us to practice the power of positive thinking. He says that when we do this, the God of peace will be with us.
Paul makes a list of fine thoughts:
1. True – We are inundated by false teachings and the lies of the world. We should think about the truth that God will never let us down.
2. Noble - We should think on things of high moral principles, holy things.
3. Right – We should think on things that are right according to God’s laws, things just in God’s eyes.
4. Pure – Purity means morally undefiled. Our thoughts should be so clean that they can stand the scrutiny of God.
5. Lovely – Instead of thinking of bitterness, fear, punishment, and criticism, we should think of lovely things such as kindness, sympathy, and tolerance.
6. Admirable– The Greek word means fair-speaking. This would eliminate gossip, critical words, ugly words, and curse words. We should think words that are fit for God to hear.
7. Excellent – We should think in terms of the highest virtue. This means every kind of excellence, whatever is the highest level any task or job.
8. Praiseworthy – We should think about living in a way that could be praised by others, yet we should not seek or desire praise.
If Ralph Waldo Emerson’s saying, “The ancestor of every action is a thought,” is true, then our fine thoughts will become fine actions.
We’ll truly have thought power if we change our thoughts, change our actions, and change the world!
1. True – We are inundated by false teachings and the lies of the world. We should think about the truth that God will never let us down.
2. Noble - We should think on things of high moral principles, holy things.
3. Right – We should think on things that are right according to God’s laws, things just in God’s eyes.
4. Pure – Purity means morally undefiled. Our thoughts should be so clean that they can stand the scrutiny of God.
5. Lovely – Instead of thinking of bitterness, fear, punishment, and criticism, we should think of lovely things such as kindness, sympathy, and tolerance.
6. Admirable– The Greek word means fair-speaking. This would eliminate gossip, critical words, ugly words, and curse words. We should think words that are fit for God to hear.
7. Excellent – We should think in terms of the highest virtue. This means every kind of excellence, whatever is the highest level any task or job.
8. Praiseworthy – We should think about living in a way that could be praised by others, yet we should not seek or desire praise.
If Ralph Waldo Emerson’s saying, “The ancestor of every action is a thought,” is true, then our fine thoughts will become fine actions.
We’ll truly have thought power if we change our thoughts, change our actions, and change the world!
1 comments:
James Allen is a great author. If you visit The James Allen Library (www.jamesallenlibrary.com), you can read if complete set of works for free online!
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