Stretched out on the couch, watching our favorite football team, felt dead right. Buried in the vocabulary of first downs and interceptions, wide receiver and linebacker, flea flicker and audible, delayed blitz and play action, I had no intention of writing a blog post.
But I couldn’t help myself.
While the SEC football drama played out on the screen, the dominant topic played out in my head: mental mistakes. As I listened, the sportscaster persistently pointed out one team’s mental mistakes. And, sure enough, when the whistle blew, mental mistakes robbed said team of victory. (Groan.)
However, mental mistakes are not confined to the gridiron, are they? And you and I need not be university athletes to still suffer the penalty from costly mental errors. Consider the following list of thought patterns that take us places God never intended us to go.
Top Ten Mental Mistakes in the Life of a Child of God
Mental Mistake #1: Worry
Mental Mistake #2: Fear
Mental Mistake #3: Viewing the future without factoring in the Presence of God
Mental Mistake #4: Naïve attitude regarding our spiritual battle
Mental Mistake #5: Obsessive thinking, Overthinking, and Negative thinking
Mental Mistake # 6: Introspection
Mental Mistake #7: Not believing the best of another
Mental Mistake #8: Permitting a problem to become an idol
Mental Mistake #9: Self-flagellation
Mental Mistake #10: Neglecting to consult the Lord when making a decision
Ok, one more …
Mental Mistake #11: Judging the actions of someone without obtaining the facts
Living With Eternal Intentionality®
Mental Mistakes are costly, and rob us of God’s intended walk of victory. What mental mistake can you add to the list I created?
For further reflection, ask yourself the following:
What is the most common mental mistake I am prone to make?
What would be God’s plan from His Word to correct this thinking pattern?
But we have the mind of Christ … (1 Corinthians 2:16b).
