RE Generation

The Mind

I would very much doubt if you told me that you had never gotten angry before. I would also question if you said you’ve never thought badly of someone else. I’m going to delve deeper into a larger topic, but it is all going to be up in your head (Idk if that was even good enough to be a pun, but if it was, it was intended). 

Everything you see, learn, situation, and everything around you goes through your mind. You’ve probably heard this before, but your mind is very powerful. However, it is tough to control ­— just like a superpower. This makes it a great danger, especially for mentally unsound teenagers. 

Thinking about the process of thinking

You receive information from your five senses, whether it be knowledge or information.

From there comes the thoughts and perceptions, based on what you now know.

Then, what you think changes into something more substantial: a belief.

Afterwards, you start to develop emotions and desires.

And as these get stronger, these will lead to specific actions or behaviours.

This is how we process information; I am showing you this because when any one of these processes becomes negative, then as the list goes on, the impact will double. For example, suppose you perceive a situation as negative from the top of the list. In that case, everything underneath will also become negative. Your thoughts will be negative. You will start to have negative self-talk, and this negativity will develop into sinful thoughts and actions. 

According to  stats, in the next 24 hours in the United States:

  • 1,439 teens will attempt suicide
  • 2,795 teenage girls will become pregnant.
  • 15,006 teens will use drugs for the first time.
  • 3,506 teens will run away.
  • 2 teens will be murdered.

As mentally unsound teenagers, we are prone to developing negative thoughts and perceptions. The stats above all start from thoughts, eventually growing into something bigger. Therefore, we must be cautious with our thoughts, and not only that but if we can limit the negative things that we see, do so. 

Sometimes we have negative thoughts because of our hormones; we quickly get moody and often get mad at little things. But at other times, we’re just angry. Sometimes we are just the stereotypical troubled teen. But it’s not right, and we must break that stereotype. How?

Then what must we do?

Rely on God; you cannot rely on anyone or anything else. My brother bought me a book the other day about anger and calming your heart. It’s a 31-day daily devotional on anger. And on one of the days, taken from James 5: 13, it questioned, when you get angry or sad, what is your first reaction? It may be talking to a friend or putting pity on yourself for some. James 5: 13 says, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise”. But what James is saying is that in everything, go to God first. If you are in suffering, pray and go to God. If you are cheerful, praise God. We cannot rely on anyone else from God; our friends cannot sustain us, and they can fail us, but only our faithful God can sustain us. 

All in all, we must go to God; our mind is a Dangerfield to teens. Our thoughts may haunt us, but His rod and His staff will comfort us. However, we must be careful in what we think, see, and do because it may lead to something bigger – into sin. 

This is probably one of the shortest articles on this website, but the point of this is to warn you about your mind, and that we must go and pray to God and God alone, for His perfect and unfailing guidance.

Source:

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-happening-to-our-children-2606269

RE Gen Convention

Join us at RE Gen Con, the annual convention where teenagers come together for 4 days to delve into God’s Word and build lifelong friendships.

RE Gen Study Centre

Free study space and affordable tuition for high schoolers from Y7 to Y12 who wants to excel academically and learn together.

Latest Posts

Articles
Elaine Tambunan

The Three Signs of A Christian

Almost everywhere we go, we’re confronted with signs that tell us exactly what lies inside – all the way from KFC to McDonalds. But what about the signs of a Christian?

Articles
Erin Kurnia

Reality of Suffering

A familiar question I am sure everyone has asked at some point in their lives is: “If God is so good, why does he allow suffering to happen?” But I want to ask a question back in response: Are we asking the right question?

Articles
Ethan Chow

On Talents

Sometimes, it seems that our talents are seemingly random and it only depends on how much our parents push us from a young age. Or are talents more than just ‘things we’re good at’?