I go back and forth about Pastor John/Dr. Piper (which of the two I choose will color the way I listen to him so I try to pick both). Especially when it comes to the (in my opinion) needlessly ubiquitous discussion/debate about gender roles and subjugating women with regard to leadership in the church. And something about the rigid Calvinist bent to which he vocally subscribes just flat rubs me the wrong way. HOWEVER. However...

I've observed and I believe that the majority of "Christian literature" (such a broad term) on the life of the mind is mostly written in the interest of the quality of life of the reader. Topics such as how to avoid chronically negative thinking, how to identify and fix patterns of thinking that are inconsistent with the truth about who God is, who He says that we are, and our relationship to Him--these are important and good! We need to address these problems in a biblical way! But at the end of the day, it seems like those topics end with US--what will improve our life, feelings, relationships (even our relationship with God), etc. The mind is such a complex enterprise and the brain such a devastatingly beautiful thing in design and power; it seems that there must be more meant for the purpose of such an elegant and sophistocated process than ideas which are well-intentioned but at their core are focused more on us and less on God than they should be.

Among many well-exposited points, Pastor/Dr. discusses the process of thinking as a faculty meant to ascribe glory to God (isn't this what everything is for?), and so (as I read it) asserts that we think best when we think about the wonder and majesty of God Himself. This makes so much sense that it's thrilling (I love when things make sense!) and embarrassing all at the same time. Let's see here: I spend a good portion of my headspace thinking about people I care about. Family members, friends, and let's not forget that one gentleman that has had my attention at any given moment since I was 13. But how much of that time is spent in fascination of Jesus Himself? Not enough! For a kid who grew up in church, it seems like the more lofty thing is to think deeply (no pun intended) about profound theology or doctrine instead of the God-man Himself. If I spent half as much time thinking about Him as I do everyone else...(wondrous...I don't even know how best to finish that thought). Barriers to good thinking are also discussed in the book, such as the cultural problem of relativism, and the dangers of anti-intellectualism in some areas of the church. But the primary takeaway for me has been to examine the content of my thoughts, and not just in the way of avoiding sinful thinking. This is less of a "what should I NOT be thinking about?" (for this is the life of the "good Christian") and much more of a "what should I be thinking MORE about?" issue. And for me, it's the person of Jesus Himself.

And, when I really think about it, wouldn't that do SO MUCH to solve the issues that the other books on thinking are looking to address? One stone for an infinite number of birds.