What If Someone Could Read Your Mind?

A Popular Sideshow

Mind reading has been a sideshow attraction for many years, having roots in ancient times with divination and soothsaying. Today, many are amazed by the workings of illusionists – people who use various forms of subterfuge and basic psychology to give the illusion of mind reading. But what if it were possible that someone could not simply read a general idea from your mind, but could instead know the entirety of the very thoughts we hold most private. Such a person would know the whole truth about you, knowing your true intentions, opinions, and preferences. They would also know your secrets – the hidden shadows of our own personal closets.

Controlled Behavior

If someone could read our minds, we would modify our thinking behavior while around them. We would try to keep as wholesome a mind as possible so as not to broadcast dark or wicked thoughts which would embarrass us. We would take the greatest care with every possible thought that entered our minds – the upshot of which being a great amount of self-control over actions. We would do these things because we would know that that person would know the truth about our mind.

What many do not realize is that One exists who can read your mind. He can do this because He knows you better than you know yourself, because He created you. God’s knowledge of man is deeper than any “power” a “mind reader” would enjoy. Jesus, as God in the flesh, exemplified this in His interaction with man. It is said that Jesus “knew what was in man” (John 2:25, NASU). This describes more than basic psychology. How do we react to this truth? Do we act before God in the same manner that we would before a “mind reader”?

Responding to God

Paul encouraged the Christians in Rome to have a “renewed mind” (Rom. 12:1) which would be similar to a mind devoid of dark or wicked thoughts. He also encouraged the Christians in Corinth to keep “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). This describes taking the greatest care with every thought that enters the mind – to keep it bound up under the commands of Christ. These two ideas are not dissimilar to how one would act around a “mind reader” discussed previously.

God is able to read the minds of men, not as a twisted voyeur, but as a Father seeking the best for His children. Why is it that we do not have the same sensitivity to this reality than we would have if our fellow man knew what we were thinking?