Imagine That

So, apparently there's a thing called "vain imaginations." And we aren't supposed to do it, but everyone does it.

It's like imagining how a situation could have gone differently if we'd only done this, or said that. And we aren't supposed to, because we don't have control of every situation. I guess it's like trying to take power over something that happened, or responsibility for something that was out of our control.

In the KJV, 2 Corinthians 10:5 says: Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

In the NIV, 2 Corinthians 10:5 says: We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

So, we have to capture our thoughts and wrangle them into submission to Christ, and this applies to so much more than just what we think about other people. It is also necessary to control our thoughts about situations.

Now, it's not saying that your kids can't exercise their imaginations and play with sticks in the yard, pretending they're medieval knights and dragons. This is specifically referring to thoughts that are going out of control. It's referring to controlling our thoughts that try to make us feel guilt over doing or not doing something in a situation. We can't change the past, we can only learn from it and determine not to make the same mistakes.

I think I have more to learn about this concept, but I understand the basics now. I thought I was the only one who did that - imagining how a scenario could have gone differently - but I'm not. And neither are you!

We are not alone in this, and it can be really difficult to get our
thoughts under control, but it's really important. Going over a scenario dozens of times, won't change what happened. It will only bring stress upon our lives. If we find ourselves succumbing to vain imaginations, we should be prepared to tell them no, throw them out, and (possibly) find someone to talk with if they're getting out of control.

As I said, I still have more to learn about this concept, but for today, these are my musings.