Genuine biblical Christianity is called by its founder, Jesus Christ, to be His salt and light (see Matthew 5:13-16) and to be “in the world but not of the world” (John 17:13-18). We do so by putting on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) with the deep conviction that “He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). We represent His values, His virtues and His standards. We are to be peacemakers, seeking not vengeance, but justice, mercy and forgiveness (Matthew 5:9; 5:38-48). We are not the agents of chaos, dysfunction or disorder. We love our enemies and forgive them because we have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32).

I receive a daily devotional from Chuck Swindoll in my Inbox. Recently his devotional entitled, “Greatness,” focused on “we become what we think.” Indeed, Proverbs 23:7 declares, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” He writes: “The secret of living a life of excellence is merely a matter of thinking thoughts of excellence. Really, it’s a matter of programming our minds with the kind of information that will set us free . . . Our minds were originally enemy-held territories. We were blinded by the power of the enemy. The mind was his ‘base of operations’ until the light shone within . . . And what is God’s ultimate goal? To take ‘every thought captive’ . . . His plan is to transform the old thoughts that defeat us into new thoughts that encourage us.”