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F anyone asks my mother to quote a verse of Scripture, she will always quote 2nd Corinthians 10:5. What a marvelously relevant passage, not just for my wonderful Mom, but for all of us! Each of us struggle (to some degree) with our thought life. Even if a person has mastery over lustful thoughts (Job 31:1, 2nd Timothy 2:22 & Matthew 5:28) and jealousy (which are truly two of the most destructive thought patterns we could possibly fall into) there are so many other insidious ways that our old nature can creep into our way of thinking and bring defeat into our spiritual lives. So, Paul admonishes us all here to attack our own evil thoughts violently and without mercy (Romans 13:14). We must learn to capture and subdue any and every thought that has any potential to threaten or to eclipse our fellowship with Christ. Obedience starts with attitude. Attitude is produced by a manner of thinking. For us to obey our gentle Lord, we must begin by submitting our minds to Him.
As motivation, Paul reminds us of Jesus' meekness and gentleness. Can we snub the Savior who treats us so generously? Paul demonstrated these same attitudes (meekness and gentleness) toward the Corinthians. In fact, it was the Spirit of Christ in Paul that made these sentiments possible for him. Paul was simply trying to produce continual obedience in the Corinthians; and in us. So, he reminds us all that obedience begins on the inside, with our internal reactions to and interactions with the Holy Spirit. In obeying God and in preaching the gospel of Christ, we must look continually upward and inward before we look outward (vs. 12-16).
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