Do your thoughts determine who you are?

Question

Proverbs 23:7 - "For as he thinks within himself, so he is."

If so, what help would you advise for those who might want to change?

Answer 1

I believe that your thoughts most certainly determine who you are. We don't have to entertain any old thought that comes into our mind. If we think about good wholesome things we will be a much happier person and much nicer to be around and do more good for those around us. On the other hand if we are always thinking negative thoughts we will be depressed and think only of how miserable we are and be absolutely no fun to be with.

Magneto quoted a lot of scripture about having no control over our thoughts.

It is easy to start thinking about something lustful, depressing or ugly but we are to take captive every thought. (2 Cor. 10:5) We do this by yielding control of our lives and thoughts to the Holy Spirit. The Bible is full of scripture about keeping our minds pure by thinking of things that are noble, pure, admirable and honorable. ( Phil. 4:6-8)

God bless you as you meditate on His word.

Answer 2

Every human being on the planet has thoughts that are inappropriate in some way or another. The idea of being a 'good' person is not determined by your thoughts but by your actions. I honestly believe that evil provokes these thoughts and it is up to us to not act on them. We are creatures of free will.......a thought does not ever have to become an act. Consider your personal beliefs of right and wrong. When an undesirable thought enters your mind- consider this:
If I act upon this thought will it hurt any human being?
Will it hurt me? Will it hurt any living creature?
If your answer is yes......then don't do it.
I don't mean just physically hurting- I also mean emotional and mental hurting as well.
I live by this rule and I have never regretted my actions.

QUOTE: The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering the attitudes of mind- William James

Answer 3

In this physicality, we make our own reality based on our beliefs (thoughts), emotions, and expectations.

Our thought does not determine the truth of who we are, only the image, as a child with imaginary friends...the child knows the difference between his/her imagination and the "real" world. But in our case, we forgot that physicality is a dream.

Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science, author of The Science of Mind, said, "Change your thinking, change your life." This is a metaphysical teaching, a New Thought teaching...you might find it fits with your seeking.

Answer 4

You have to act upon your thoughts to make them a part of you or something that you have done. Sometimes I get bad thoughts but I have learned how to control them most of the time. You can not let your thoughts control you. You have to control your thoughts. Just because you think something doesn't mean you have to act upon it. Think out things throw before you make decisions and things should be OK!

Answer 5

No. Your thoughts are not who you are; it's your actions.

As humans we play out scenarios quite a bit in our heads in order to determine our actions. Most of these scenarios are rather dire. For example, we may imagine failing a test and as a result decide to study in order to not reach that scenario as it may be undesireable.

Answer 6

It's simple enough.

You are what you think. Your thoughts enter your mind and become who you are.

Plant a seed - give it fresh water and sunlight - nurture to health - maintain - repeat.

Don't be fooled by complex and misdirecting explanations filled with desperate attempts of validation. That's rubbish.

Answer 7

Both your thoughts and you actions determine who you are. As do the things that you are tought to believe and not to believe. There are many factors that make you who you are.

Answer 8

yes they do. maybe clear thoughts are best. oh, and never think of something as being good or bad, look at it from all angles, so that instead of it being good or bad, come to the conclusion of is it right or wrong (because some people do bad things for good reasons, and others do good things for bad reasons)...

Answer 9

No I don't believe that. Tell me why that makes sense to you and I will tell you why it makes no sense to me. I believe in god, but alot of things in the bible make no sense and furthermore they didn't have the technology that we have today and things and people change.

Answer 10

What the Bible says about Free Will
God determines who is going to heaven ...

"And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." -- Acts 13:48

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate.... Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." -- Romans 8:29-30

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." -- 2 Timothy 1:9

"He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." -- Ephesians 1:4-5

"God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation." -- 2 Thessalonians 2:13

and who is going to hell.

"God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned." -- 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12

"For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation." -- Jude 4

There's nothing you can do about it.

"For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. .... For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." -- Romans 9:11-22