What the Bible says about clear thinking

In the wake of KatieLyn's midnight run from being a bride, her mother was belligerently adamant that KatieLyn had not been thinking "clearly" for the past six months, but asserted that when she ran back home, she was thinking clearly again for the first time in over half a year. 

The Bible has a lot to say about what "clear thinking" is and what it acts like. Biblically clear thinking is done from a faith-filled heart, not a world-filled mind.  

Toward that end, to illustrate it more plainly, I have made some charts.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8 

~ When you are thinking on these things, you are being scriptural in your thinking.

Is it biblical to think on this?	True	Honorable	Right	Pure	Lovely	Good Repute	Excellence	Praise-Worthy
Answered prayer	Yes!	Yes!	Yes!	Yes!	Yes!	Yes!	Yes!	Yes!
Joe may grow to hate me	No	No	No	No	NO!	No	No	No
I won't make Joe happy	Maybe	No	No	No	No	NO!	No	No
Fear-based concerns	NO!	NO!	NO!	NO!	NO!	NO!	NO!	NO!

Toward the end of the engagement, KatieLyn was not spending much time thinking of her answered prayer. She was thinking that Joe might grow to hate her, she was worried that she wouldn't make Joe happy, and she would dwell on other fear-based concerns that her mother had expressed previously. This chart shows that KatieLyn was not using best practices in scriptural thinking at the time she ran off.

 

Neither give place to the devil. Ephesians 4:27 

~ You need to test whether your thoughts give place to the devil.

Do these thoughts give the devil an opportunity to play mind games that steal your peace?	Does it allow the devil a place?	Is it scripturally clear thinking?
Thinking on answered prayer for a husband	No	Yes
Thinking Joe will grow to hate you	Yes	No
Thinking God will not equip you to be a good wife	Yes	NO!
Thinking about fear-based concerns	Yes	No

Toward the end of the engagement, KatieLyn was not spending much time thinking of her answered prayer. She was thinking that Joe might grow to hate her, she was worried that she wouldn't make Joe happy, and she would dwell on other fear-based concerns that her mother had expressed previously. This chart shows that KatieLyn was giving substantial place to the devil at the time she ran off.  

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, James 4:7 

~ In light of the first two charts, is ruminating on these thoughts being submissive to God? Secondly, is meditating on them compatible with resisting the devil?

Thinking about this will…	be submitting to God.	be resisting the devil.
God answered my prayer for a husband.	Yes!	Yes!
Joe will grow to hate me.	No	No
I might not be a good wife.	No	No
I have fear-causing concerns.	No	No

Toward the end of the engagement, KatieLyn was not spending much time thinking of her answered prayer. She was thinking that Joe might grow to hate her, she was worried that she wouldn't make Joe happy, and she would dwell on other fear-based concerns that her mother had expressed previously. This chart shows that KatieLyn simply was not thinking clearly when scripture is used as the standard for judgment.

The Lesson
An objective assessment based on how Philippians 4:8, Ephesians 4:27, and James 4:7 shows that KatieLyn was not thinking clearly when she called off the wedding.