SUSAN BENNETT|GUEST

We have been hearing a lot lately about cutting wasteful spending from our nation’s budget to reduce the debt burden on taxpayers. But waste isn’t easy to trim—whether it’s extra pounds, finances, or even our thinking. Wait, what? Wasteful thinking? Who said anything about that?

Yet, a person’s wasteful thinking can be just as burdensome as out-of-control spending or eating. The problems that arise when we neglect our thought life are huge—and sadly, some have eternal consequences.

Paul tells us in Romans 1:21,
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Here, Paul speaks of those whose hearts were untouched by God’s Spirit, still walking in darkness rather than light. But even those of us called out of darkness into God’s marvelous light are called to strive in our salvation. One of the most common battles in this struggle is wasteful thinking.

As a biblical counselor, I’ve seen how real this is. Wasteful thinking can lead to discouragement, discontentment, divisiveness, and despair. Sometimes it becomes so deeply entrenched that it feels like the person has no control over their thoughts. This burden weighs heavily—not just on them, but on those who love them.

What Does Wasteful Thinking Look Like?

Wasteful thinking happens when our minds disconnect from the present moment—the gift God gives us—and wander off into a barren wasteland. Usually, our thoughts take one of two familiar paths: the future or the past. Neither can be controlled, yet we obsess over predicting what’s coming or rewriting what has been. What a waste of time and opportunity to be fully present—either with ourselves, with God, or with others.

There are other wastelands too. Fear, for example, isn’t just a wasteland—it’s a powerful stronghold that can overrun our thoughts and steal our peace.

Captains of Our Thinking

To be a captain means to be in command. Captains in stories lead armies, fight battles, and take enemies captive. Those who can take captives also have the power to set captives free. Scripture shows us that our Savior is that Captain, the One who “sets the captives free” (Luke 4:18-19; Isaiah 58:6).

Dorothea Day once wrote a poem responding to the famous Invictus, called My Captain, where she declared, “Christ is the captain of my soul.” Christ came to free us from the bondage of sin so we could worship God without fear, confident our debt is paid by the precious blood of His Son, who now intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father.

Christ, our Captain, commands us to be captains of our thoughts. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:5,
“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Paul was defending his Spirit-led ministry to the Corinthians. Captains don’t just command—they guard and defend. As captains of our thinking, we must guard our hearts and take captive wasteful thoughts—the “arguments and lofty opinions” that oppose the knowledge of God. Thoughts that lead to discouragement, despair, and division fall into this category.

Basic Training

Every soldier starts with basic training—learning discipline and obedience before advancing to specialized skills. Our spiritual warfare is fought inside, in the realm of our thoughts. We need basic training too. We must learn how to take our thoughts captive unto Christ.

God has given us everything we need for this training: His Word and His Spirit. But like good soldiers, we must learn how to engage with these weapons and practice the discipline and obedience that come from the Spirit.

The Discipline of Knowledge

Discipline is key—not just in controlling eating, spending, or drinking—but in taking wasteful thoughts captive. Through the Spirit’s power, we read, study, listen to, and sing God’s Word (Col. 3:16). We seek for God’s thoughts to become our thoughts.

Isaiah reminds us,
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (55:9).

Paul commands us,
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise—think about these things” (Phil. 4:8).

These describe our Savior. Thinking these thoughts is putting into practice the mind of Christ.

Our goal is to imitate our heavenly Father (Eph. 5:1) and be ready to answer those outside the faith with a pure heart, speaking with grace, seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6). Being ready means being sober-minded and alert, prepared with wise, hope-filled words—not rooted in selfish ambition but in humility, counting others more significant than ourselves (Phil. 2:3-4). Words “seasoned with salt” preserve and heal rather than destroy or discourage.

A Prayer for Your Thought Life

My prayer for you, dear sister, is that your thoughts will no longer wander in wastelands. Instead, by His Spirit, may you practice taking your thoughts captive—so that you are ready to answer anyone who asks about the Captain of your soul, speaking with grace, seasoned with salt.

Photo by Clayton Webb on Unsplash