November 13, 2025

Minding Your Thoughts

A Biblical Overview of Obtaining and Maintaining a Biblical Thought Life

Matthew 22:17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

So many times, we think that we know, but we don’t. As a teenager I worked at a scout camp. The camp had an F dock on the lake. An F dock is one that goes out into the water then has two arms that extend perpendicular to the main dock therefore making an F shape. Between the two extensions was an area perfect for playing sharks and minnows. You may be familiar with this swimming game. One person starts off as the shark; the other players are minnows; the object is to swim from one of the docks to the other dock without being tagged by the shark. If tagged you become a shark until there is only one minnow left. That surviving minnow is the winner and has to be the first shark for the next game.

All summer, Al won all the games. He was the last minnow. We never could tag him. Sometimes it seemed as though he held his breath for more than five or six minutes. Unbelievable! The staff of this camp would play this game all weekend, it seemed as though we never grew tired of swimming. None of us could ever figure out how Al kept winning. We would think that we figured out his pattern, but we were always wrong. We would think of ways to trap him as he swam across that span between the docks but we never did. He was undefeated.

Al had to leave camp a few weeks early to get ready for college. On his last day there, I asked him how he won the game and he told me. I couldn’t believe it; it was so easy, so simple; why didn’t I think of that? The next Saturday I employed his tactic and won the game. From then on I was the winner.

You see, sometimes we think we know, but we don’t. The more questions we ask the more we learn. The more we learn the more our thinking is accurate. Those in Jesus’ day thought they knew much, but coming into contact with Christ they realized they actually knew very little. They asked Him many questions and sometimes the answers confounded them even more. Read John 6, the Lord’s answers still challenge the greatest minds on earth.

By the way, Al would dive into the water, make an immediate U-turn, swim between the underwater planks between the pylons of the dock, and swim to the other side underneath the dock. He would even come up for air under the dock. Then he would swim out between the planks on the other side, perform another underwater U-turn and easily touch that dock in safety.  We never thought of that!

May the Lord bless and be pleased with your thought life today.

Dr. William Howe