A Virtuous Mind

The mind of man is the human consciousness that originates in the brain and is manifested in thought, perception, emotion, will, memory and imagination. The mind is what makes us do what we do and be who we are. To have a virtuous mind is to be a virtuous person.

The greatest virtue that the human mind can possess is a deep love for God. Jesus Christ said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy mind: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). Faith in God is wonderful, and hope in God is indispensable, but love for God is the greatest virtue, now and for ever. “And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love” (1Corinthians 13:13).The mind that loves God is a virtuous mind:

1| Virtuous minds are also courageous. An obvious form of mental courage is the willingness to hold unpopular views, graciously. Another important characteristic of a courageous mind is its willingness to look at its own views and conclusions analytically, and to rethink its positions where it is necessary to better conform to truth.

2| Virtuous minds are stable. Minds that lack virtue often surrender ground at the slightest whiff of opposition. Other minds that also lack virtue hold dogmatically to their beliefs which are erroneous. But a virtuous mind will progressively gain a further understanding of truth.

3| Virtuous minds are humble. A virtuous mind is humble about itself, and increasingly so as its knowledge grows. A person with a humble mind does not triumphantly pounce upon errors it sees in other people’s thinking. Instead, such a person is gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient (2 Timothy 2:24). Oh to attain to a virtuous mind, but a virtuous mind is not attained by simply adopting proper mental techniques. Why? Because the attainment of a virtuous mind is a moral enterprise, not merely a rational one. In the final analysis, the attainment of a virtuous mind is possible only by surrendering our mind to the grace and work of God upon our minds (word of God). Our part, then, in maintaining a virtuous mind includes constantly pushing back against the grain of our human nature- against vanity, against laziness, against pride, against rebellion and against every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5). To maintain a virtuous mind we must continually surrender our minds to God’s word and submit our thoughts to His rule. That is true virtue. “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).

From left: Bro Dafydd Jenkins, Bro Gaius Egwu and Bro Philip Oram

Bro Gaius U Egwu (Ohafia, Nigeria)