Context

My sister sent me this article that was written by Chuck Swindoll:

THOUGHTS
by Charles R. Swindoll

Philippians 4:8

Thoughts are the thermostat that regulates what we accomplish in life. If I feed my mind upon doubt, disbelief, and discouragement, that is precisely the kind of day my body will experience. If I adjust my thermostat forward to thoughts filled with vision, vitality, and victory, I can count on that kind of day. Thus, you and I become what we think about.

Neither Dale Carnegie nor Norman Vincent Peale originated such a message. God did. “For as [a man] thinks within himself, so he is” (Prov. 23:7). “Therefore, prepare your minds for action” (1 Peter 1:13).

The mind is a “thought factory” producing thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of thoughts each day. Production in your thought factory is under the charge of two foremen. One we shall call Mr. Triumph, the other Mr. Defeat.

Mr. Triumph specializes in producing reasons why you can face life victoriously, why you can handle what comes your way, why you’re more than able to conquer. Mr. Defeat is an expert in the opposite. He develops reasons why you cannot succeed, why you’re inadequate, why you should give up and give in to worry, failure, discouragement, and inferiority.

Give a positive signal, and Mr. Triumph will see to it that one encouraging, edifying thought after another floods your mind. But Mr. Defeat is always standing by, awaiting a negative signal (which he would rather you call “reality” or “common sense!”), and when he gets it, he cranks out discouraging, destructive, demoralizing thoughts that will soon have you convinced you can’t or won’t or shouldn’t.

Thoughts, positive or negative, grow stronger when fertilized with constant repetition. That may explain why so many who are gloomy and gray stay in that mood . . . and why those who are cheery and enthusiastic continue to be so.

What kind of performance would your car deliver if every morning before you left for work you scooped up a handful of dirt and put it in your crankcase? The engine would soon be coughing and sputtering. Ultimately it would refuse to start. The same is true of your life. Thoughts that are narrow, self-destructive, and abrasive produce needless wear and tear on your mental motor. They send you off the road while others drive past.

You need only one foreman in your mental factory: Mr. Triumph is his name. He is eager to assist you and available to all the members of God’s family.

His real name is the Holy Spirit, the Helper.

If Mr. Defeat is busily engaged as the foreman of your factory, fire yours and hire ours! You will be amazed at how smoothly the plant will run under His leadership.

For the most part I don't have a problem with what he is saying here. It is without doubt that our habitual thoughts impact our days in a huge way.

There is a problem I see in the article though and it is very common in "Evangelical" circles. The initial scripture cited (Philippians 4:8) is very appropriate to the subject. But when we get to the next scriptural citation we find it ripped out of it's context and applied in a totally inappropriate manner! First of all, it doesn't even say what he claims it says, check out the various translations of Proverbs 23:7 here. Sure, the archaic King James says "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." but it is translated in the New International Version as "for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost." and in the English Standard Version as "for he is like one who is inwardly calculating." While this seems like a huge difference when you don't rip it out of its context it makes better sense.

Proverbs 23:1-8 (ESV)
¹ When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, ² and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. ³ Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. ⁴ Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. ⁵ When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. ⁶ Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, ⁷ for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. ⁸ You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words.

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Clearly this verse, Proverbs 23:7, does not at all mean what Mr. Swindoll says it does! The final scriptural reference is slightly better but still is not addressing the idea of making your day better by having a better attitude! Mr. Triumph and Mr. Defeat are not found in any of the scriptures cited, of course :-) They are not even close to scriptural!

What sort of days does our Lord really say we should expect as children of God? Persecution:

²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, ^nthere is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and ^ofor the gospel, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold ^pnow in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, ^qwith persecutions, and in ^rthe age to come eternal life. ³¹ But ^smany who are first will be last, and the last first.”

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Mk 10:29-31). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

We should expect trials:

^{2 e}Count it all joy, my brothers,² when you meet trials ^fof various kinds, ³ for you know that ^gthe testing of your faith ^hproduces steadfastness. ⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be ^iperfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Jas 1:2-4). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

And when you include more of the context of the 1 Peter reference you see we are to expect trials there as well:

^{3 g}Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ^hAccording to his great mercy, ^ihe has caused us to be born again to a living hope ^jthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to ^kan inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and ^lunfading, ^mkept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded ^nthrough faith for a salvation ^oready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by ^pvarious trials, ⁷ so that ^qthe tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes ^rthough it is tested by ^sfire—may be found to result in ^tpraise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (1 Pe 1:3-7). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The whole "Prosperity and Healing" teachings of so many Pentecostals and Evangelicals is simply false teaching. God may give you prosperity and He may choose to heal you, but you may also find yourself enduring sickness and trials and despair, you may be persecuted because of your faith in Jesus.

To say that we just need to speak the words of "Mr. Triumph" and not of "Mr. Defeat" is really not much of a comfort when you or a loved one is sick and dying! What we need to hear constantly is Christ and Him crucified for us and for our salvation.

Of course it probably doesn't hurt to have a positive attitude, it's just not going to change the fact that we are sinners until the day we die, and die we will unless the Lord should call a halt to things before that.

Mr. Triumph is the Holy Spirit? Where does that come from? From the "helper"? Jesus says the Holy Spirit will help "bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." Not make our days go better. The one purpose the Holy Spirit has is to point us toward Christ!

But still, I suppose being upbeat is a good thing...