I have thoughts that think me. They are thoughts that I don’t consciously conjure up or intentionally inquire after but nonetheless I often find them wandering around in my brain. They wander around until I have some down time or a second of silence which gives me the chance to listen in on what I’m thinking. It’s during these times that I am able to hear the thoughts that are thinking me and if I am truthful I am often horrified by the thoughts that have been wandering around my brain without a chaperone.
These thoughts that think me fall into a few different categories. Some are stereotypes that assume they have refrigerator rights in the home of my head, meaning they are quite familiar and so they no longer think they have to knock or even ask before they rummage around in my fridge. Some thoughts are old scripts that I have read through so often that my brain recites their lines from memory, often playing different roles but with a preference for the villain or the hero. Some thoughts run so rampant in the culture that surrounds me that it’s as if I have caught them like a cold and some are just bad habits that moved in for a time and now won’t seem to leave no matter how many eviction notices they are issued.
I have thoughts that think me, grabby little thoughts that hold onto things that need to be let go, embrace things that have no business being coddled and hang on with such tenacity that I often find it difficult to pry them loose. The thoughts are often involuntary and I find if I don’t make time to listen in on the cacophony the chorus often drowns out the thoughts that I have intentionally invited in for conversation. Like little birds that come to roost these thoughts that think me seem to be able to hold onto the branch of my brain with very little effort. That’s because most birds have a flexor tendon that runs down their leg and into their toes, a flexor tendon that automatically tightens every time they land upon a branch. Did you know birds don’t even have to think about tightening their toes because the response is involuntary and without thought the tendon tightens every time the bird lands upon a branch? In fact the tendon only relaxes when the bird consciously lets go.
The thoughts that think us operate in much the same manner. With very little effort and a near involuntary response our thoughts tighten around particular places and we find we have an almost involuntary attachment to certain ways of thinking. Their tenacity should concern us because the thoughts that think us are often the thoughts that fuel the divisions among us. They are the familiar stereotypes, the scripts that we have rehearsed well, the slogans of our surrounding culture and strongholds that have tightened their toes around particular topics.
Their power to divide is augmented by their power to hide right beneath the surface of the intentional thoughts that we think and because we are often too busy to sit and listen to the conversation beneath the conversation we continue to find we can’t get past the argument, over the insult, or into a brand new way of thinking. And like the little bird that latches onto a branch until we make a conscious decision to let go we too will find ourselves unable to loosen our grip.
The apostle Paul commissions the followers of Jesus to “take every thought captive”. He doesn’t shame us for having thoughts that think us, but he does make it clear that we cannot let them run around our lives without a chaperone. We must listen to the thoughts beneath our thoughts and we must be intentional about which thoughts are invited to stay for tea and which thoughts need to make their way to the door. And we must accept the commission of the Apostle Paul to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) And so today may you find time today to listen to the thoughts that you think and the thoughts that think you and may you intentionally loosen your grip on the ones that need to fly free.
