Day 289, Year 1

Reverse Thinking and Actions can Make People Clean

“But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you.” (Luke 11:41 NASB)

From one single statement by Jesus, we can see how believers should deal with the impurities in our lives. Basically, Jesus’ prescription is to encourage us not to run away from problems, but to face them and find ways to deal with them. In any case, if people are unwilling to face and deal with the issues in their own lives, they usually become increasingly worse. In this case, when the Pharisees, etc., were greedy, Jesus’ prescription was to invite them to give habitually. This is a kind of reverse thinking and actions that can often solve at least part of life’s problems. Perhaps when their perspective changes, they may be able to break free from the love of material possessions that corrupts them. Indeed, some available reverse thinking training can also address people’s obstinacy. The focus is to encourage people to think and act in the opposite direction of their problems to resolve them.

Some people may oppose this method of reverse thinking and actions, arguing that it does not address problems at their roots. In my opinion, if this method is ineffective, then it is necessary to seek fundamental solutions. For instance, the greedy mentality of the Pharisees, etc., was a collective issue. The charitable acts of some of them might not truly resolve all their problems. Moreover, some may tend to be greedy due to generational curses. Often, it is difficult for people to fundamentally change established perspectives and habits from the past through reverse thinking and actions. Sometimes, believers need to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to break the ancestral curses on our spirits, so that we can be completely free from those erroneous perspectives and habits. Meanwhile, those who are unclean often need the intercession and guidance of others to change their thinking and habits. There are even other secular methods of changing false beliefs that are useful and effective, sometimes.

From what Jesus said, we can understand that He is not against people having money; He is simply against the love of money. This is a matter of perspective. In other words, there is no problem for us to think and plan how to give out our wealth to others. After all, money is meant to be used by people. Conversely, when people look at others’ money and plan how to extort them, that becomes a notable problem, for it is greed for others’ money combined with evil schemes, which leads to sin. Furthermore, what if someone looks at a wealthy person’s money, thinks about how to obtain it, and then gives it to the poor? In my opinion, this can be right or wrong, depending on Jesus’ guidance for individual believers.

Reflection questions:

1) Do you think that reverse thinking and actions can help you tackle some of your problems in life? Why?

2) What impurities do you think Jesus has to deal with in your life? If so, in what ways of His need your cooperation?