Consider Your Thinking - The Vanity of Thoughts by Thomas Goodwin (Puritan Treasures for Today Series

Your thoughts matter more than you think. 

I’ve been reading through The Vanity of Thoughts by Thomas Goodwin (from the Puritan Treasures for Today series by @reformationheritagebooks), and it’s short, accessible, and deeply convicting. This is a short book (77 pages) but it will give you good food for thought on the topic of your thought life. You’ll see yourself in Goodwin’s depiction of evil thoughts, sinful imagination, and a hesitancy toward thinking righteously. 

For some context, I’d say that the Puritan Treasures for Today series is very similar to the Banner of Truth Puritan Paperbacks series. The Banner paperbacks probably have a longer life and generally are more familiar works from the Puritans, but RHB’s series is typically made up of shorter books and you can probably get them cheaper. Each series has their place, and they definitely both have their place on my bookshelf. 

My favorite part of this short book was chapter six - Remedies against Vain Thoughts. Here are some ideas from Goodwin’s work that might help you to think God’s own thoughts after Him today:

1) Store Up Heavenly Truth in Your Heart - If you have a strong working knowledge of the Bible, you are training yourself to think godly thoughts. Glenna Marshall’s book Memorizing Scripture may be a help to you. 

2) Consider God’s Character - When we rightly see God for who he is, our affections are drawn to Him and we desire to please Him. 

3) Start the Day Well - Having a rock-solid morning routine is some of the best advice you could ever implement, but I encourage you to also take an inventory of the thoughts that come into your mind when you first wake up. Talk to God about what you’re thinking first thing in the morning.

4) Guard Your Eyes - Guard your imagination by guarding your eyes. As the song goes, “Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see.” The views your eyes take in will inform your thought life.

What helps you take your thought life seriously? Read anything on this topic that you'd recommend? Let me know, I would love to read it.