I once read a book that included a chapter on mindsets, I found it quite interesting and I would love to share some of the high points with you today.
The three mindsets discussed were the barbarian mindset, the Greek mindset and the Hebrew mindset. Although it was a short chapter, some parts of it caught my attention therefore I had to read it over and over.
The first mindset is the Barbarian mindset. The basic operating function of this mindset is fear. In other words, to a barbarian the strength of a government is measured by the ability to hold the people in fear.
I have seen reports where a terrorist group went into a village and randomly picked out someone to punish through being shot to death or hung. They don’t do this because the person is guilty of something; they do it to instill fear amongst everyone else. Why? Because people who are filled with fear are easily dominated. That is the sentence that caught my attention concerning the barbarian mindset…people who are filled with fear are easily dominated.
Fear is the devils greatest tool. He knows you can’t walk in faith and fear at the same time. As long as he intimidates you with fear you are under his control. If you have fear in your life you are being oppressed by a barbarian named Satan. A barbarian mindset, keep in mind, is based in fear.
Now, let’s look at a Greek mindset. A Greek mindset believes that success comes when man rules himself. The operating principle of a Greek mindset is pride and intellect. Someone with a Greek mindset believes that knowledge is power; if you can understand how something happens then you can control and manipulate the outcome. Those with a Greek mindset want to make sure that everything lines up intellectually and by the book. To a Greek mindset, human reason is supreme and they cannot accept things that they can’t understand.
If you are going to walk with God, you’re going to walk through some things you may not understand…the question will be will you still love and trust God when you can’t understand?
Then we have the Hebrew mindset, which is the biblical mindset. A Hebrew mindset is a mind that has been transformed by the truth of God’s word. You don’t have to be Jewish to have this mindset; we can have it by renewing our mind to God’s word. God has given us all we need to establish a new mindset, a Hebrew mindset…one that causes us to think like God thinks.
The result of a Hebrew mindset is success. Most Jews begin to study the word of God at age three, the way God thinks is the way they think and it brings nothing but success. Let’s look at some statistics. 2% of the population is Jewish – 20% of professors at leading universities are Jewish – 25% of Nobel Prize winners are Jewish – one third of American multi-millionaires are Jewish and 40% of the partners of the leading law firms in Washington and NY are Jewish – there is something different about their mindset and therefore, their accomplishments.
So….how does this all affect our walk with God. If you have a barbarian mindset you will make war and attempt to conquer the weak and you will walk in a world dominated by fear. If you have a Greek mindset you will study theology and doctrine to reason all the questions you have…you will be pressed to get the right answer at all cost. If you have a Hebrew mindset you may not always understand God but you will always love, worship and obey him.
It is God’s will and plan that we each walk in a Hebrew mindset – thinking like God thinks and walking in the success that this type of mindset brings…which mindset do you have today?
Whatever mindset you have you can ask God to give you a Hebrew mindset and then you can begin to meditate in the word of God day and night. You can cast down every thought that is against the word of God. Before you know it you will be abiding in the mindset of a Hebrew…thinking like God thinks. That should be our goal…don’t you think?
