Do you identify with your thoughts? Do you think you have any being apart from them? In a world with no basis but rationalism, how can you draw any distinction between your thoughts and your essential being? Yet are all your thoughts true and a perfect expression of your best and highest self? My word tells you to take every thought captive. Have you ever felt the need for this? Yet this concept only makes sense if you can see yourself as having agency apart from your thoughts. Think about what you are thinking about, and release those thoughts that don’t work in your favor.

Are you in an organization with a leadership hierarchy? You may be in several. This is typically true in the military and in the world of commerce. There are offices and titles and you know who your commanding officer or your boss is. To a larger extent than you might expect the same type of structure is in place in churches. Have you ever been in a situation in which there was no organization, but leadership was necessary? Have you seen someone with no office or designated authority step forward to take charge when the situation called for it? Perhaps you have been this person.

What sort of world do you see? Do you see a world fallen and in darkness, under the control of the evil one? Do you see a world of beauty and promise and potential? Somewhere in between? Have you noticed that everyone can justify their position, no matter what it is? Do you see some people working for a better world? Of the world views above, who do you see as willing to put the effort into this task? Isn’t it those with a positive outlook who work to make things better still.

Have you suffered? This is not an experience that people apply for, but it comes none the less. Who can avoid it in the course of a lifetime? Some people make the avoidance of suffering a primary goal and some succeed more or less. Have you known such people? What are their characteristics? Do you find them to be shallow, full of themselves, and narcissistic? What about those who face their suffering and accept the effects of it? What do you see in them? Patience, wisdom, maturity, and a broken spirit and a contrite heart?