The Christian Mind

His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” John 2.5

The Christian Mind
Harry Blamires (1916-)
“The true Christian mind will bring to bear upon the human scene those specifically Christian moral criteria which by no amount of casuistry can be equated with the generally accepted respectability-morality of our day. In the Christian moral system the key sin is pride – that perversion of the will by which the self is asserted as the centre of the universe. That is the mark of the utterly lost soul; an established and constant habit of manipulating all people and all interests in the service of the self. Likewise the key virtue in the Christian moral system is obedience; that self-commitment in thought and act by which God is asserted as the centre of the universe.”

We live in an age of rampant narcissism. Everywhere you turn, the norm is to look out for oneself first of all, and let the rest take care of themselves. The song, “No Way to Stop It,” from the Broadway version of The Sound of Music, captures this atmosphere perfectly: “You’re a fool if you worry, you’re a fool if you worry, over anything but little number 1…That all-absorbing character, that fascinating creature, that super special feature – me!” The narcissistic mindset says to the world, implicitly, “Look at me. Do for me. Attend to me. Obey me.” The Christian mind runs in just the opposite direction, seeking only to see, serve, and obey the true Number One, our Lord Jesus Christ. Every believer has a center to his universe, his sphere of influence, his Personal Mission Field. That center will be either “I, Me, Mine,” as the Beatles put it, or “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified and exalted,” as Paul put it. The first comes naturally. The latter, only by discipline and training.

What would be some of the symptoms suggesting a church was giving in to the narcissistic spirit of the age, rather than the Holy Spirit of God?

Renewing the Mind
We are currently running a multi-part series on Renewing the Mind in our daily ReVision series. The fourth installment is entitled, The Mind of Christ in His Word: Part 2, and is available as a free PDF download by going to the website, www.ailbe.org, clicking on today’s ReVision column entitled, “The Cure for Doctrinal Revulsion” and clicking the link at the end. I urge you to follow this entire series, and to consider using it with your leaders. If you are not subscribed to ReVision, you can do so at the website. Or you can download each week’s PDF study in a format suitable for group or personal use.

Training for Christian Action
Our Mission Partners Outreach program is designed as a life-based training curriculum, to help church members identify and begin working their Personal Mission Fields for the purpose of making disciples and advancing Christ’s Kingdom. I’m looking for some men to lead through this training program, and to help you see how our Mission Partners Outreach program can help your church overcome its failure to communicate. If you’re interested, drop me a line at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Fellowship of Ailbe is supported through the generous and faithful gifts of those who benefit from and believe in our work. Does the Lord want to use you in this way? Please look to Him in prayer over this question. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the Contribute button at our website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Thank you.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All quotations from The Christian Mind are from Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind (Ann Arbor: Servant Books, 1963, 1978).