All Series > Will & Purpose > Part 8
Program Your Mind
(Series 1, Part 8, Teaching #8)
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Program Your Mind
Your intellect is one of the most powerful gifts God has given you. With it, you can learn, reason, create, and discern. There is no ceiling to your capacity for growth. But while your mind is capable of incredible things, it is also vulnerable. Left to program itself—shaped by culture, emotion, or pride—it can easily lose its way.
The reality is this: most of us are on a quest for the good, but we’ve never been shown the path to get there. We chase after whatever seems fulfilling—friends, attention, wealth, status, possessions—only to discover that even if we attain them, the fulfillment is fleeting. Highs crash into lows. Moments of pleasure give way to emptiness. And slowly, we begin to wonder if something is wrong with us—when really, we’ve just been taught to seek the good in all the wrong places.
“If we are well educated [in virtue], we will have moral order. If not, vice and disorder will prevail” (St. John Bosco). So many are left misinformed, underformed, or deformed in their thinking—not because they are unwilling, but because no one ever showed them the way. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all” (Aristotle). If your intellect is not formed by truth, your heart will be pulled by lies. And without a strong moral education, your thoughts, choices, and character will drift—far from God and far from the person He created you to be.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
There is a path—one built not on trends or opinion, but on truth—illuminated by Scripture, lived out by the saints, and perfected in Christ Himself. Scripture calls you to it: “Wisdom is a fountain of life to one who has it…” (Proverbs 16:22), and again, “All the virtues are the result of Wisdom’s work: justice and courage, self-control and understanding. Life can offer us nothing more valuable than these” (Wisdom 8:7).
To learn the teachings of virtue is to rewire the way you think—not just to know what is good, but to love what is good, to desire what is holy, and to pursue what is true. This is not a one-time switch. It is a daily reorientation—a process of shedding worldly thoughts and embracing the character of Christ. With each truth you learn and live, your intellect is strengthened. With each virtue you practice, your soul is formed.
Renew your mind—and you will renew your life. Let the Holy Spirit shape your thoughts, align your will with God’s, and flood your mind with wisdom from above. For once your mind is fixed on what is good, acceptable, and perfect, you will never again be fooled by what is not.
To program your mind in the teachings of virtue—the very journey you have now begun—is to attain the key that opens the door to the path of a fruitful, faithful, and fulfilling life.
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Related Scripture
“Wisdom is a fountain of life to one who has it, but folly is the punishment of fools.” — Proverbs 16:22 (NRSVue)
“All the virtues are the result of Wisdom’s work: justice and courage, self-control and understanding. Life can offer us nothing more valuable than these” — Wisdom 8:7 (GNT)
“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” — Romans 12:2 (NRSVue)
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,” — 2 Peter 1:5 (NABRE)
"To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." — Romans 8:6 (NRSVue)
“Wisdom is more beautiful than the sun and all the constellations. She is better than light itself, because night always follows day, but evil never overcomes Wisdom.” — Wisdom 7:29-30 (GNT)
“An intelligent mind acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” — Proverbs 18:15 (NRSVue)
“My child, learn to value Wisdom while you are young, and you will still be able to find her when you grow old.” — Sirach 6:18 (GNT)
“The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom; whatever else you get, get understanding.” — Proverbs 4:7 (NABRE)
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” — Proverbs 9:10 (NRSVue)
“Do you love justice? All the virtues are the result of Wisdom's work: justice and courage, self-control and understanding. Life can offer us nothing more valuable than these.” — Wisdom 8:7 (GNT)
“Loving [wisdom] is loving life itself; rising early to look for her is pure joy. Anyone who obtains Wisdom will be greatly honored. Wherever he goes, the Lord will bless him. Wisdom's servants are the servants of the Holy One, and the Lord loves everyone who loves her. Those who obey her will give sound judgments; those who pay attention to her have true security. Put your trust in Wisdom, and you will possess her and pass her on to your descendants. At first, Wisdom will lead you along difficult paths. She will make you so afraid that you will think you cannot go on. The discipline she demands will be tormenting, and she will put you to the test with her requirements until she trusts you completely. Then she will come to you with no delay, reveal her secrets to you, and make you happy. But if you go astray, she will abandon you and let you go to your own ruin. Take advantage of opportunities, but guard yourself against evil. Don't underrate yourself. Humility deserves honor and respect, but a low opinion of yourself leads to sin.” — Sirach 4:12-21 (GNT)
“But.it is different with the person who devotes himself to studying the Law of the Most High. He examines the wisdom of all the ancient writers and concerns himself with the prophecies. He memorizes the sayings of famous men and is a skilled interpreter of parables. He studies the hidden meaning of proverbs and is able to discuss the obscure points of parables. Great people call on him for his services, and he is seen in the company of rulers. He travels to foreign lands in his efforts to learn about human good and evil. It is his practice to get up early and pray aloud to the Lord his Creator, asking the Most High to forgive his sins. Then, if the great Lord is willing, he will be filled with understanding. He will pour out a stream of wise sayings, and give thanks to the Lord in prayer. He will have knowledge to share and good advice to give, as well as insight into the Lord's secrets. He will demonstrate his learning in what he teaches, and his pride will be in the Lord's Law and covenant. He will be widely praised for his wisdom, and it will never be lost, because people for generations to come will remember him. The Gentiles will talk about his wisdom, and he will be praised aloud in the assembly.” — Sirach 39:1-10 (GNT)
"Whoever fears the Lord will do this; whoever is practiced in the Law will come to Wisdom." — Ben Sira 15:1 (NABRE)
Related Quotes
“If the youth is well educated [in virtue], we will have moral order. If not, vice and disorder will prevail.” — St. John Bosco
“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.” — Theodore Roosevelt
“Intelligence plus character-that is the true goal of education.” — Martin Luther King, Jr
“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” — Ven. Fulton J. Sheen
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” ― Aristotle
“The purpose of education [in virtue] is to give to the body and to the soul all the beauty and all the perfection of which they are capable.” — Plato
“The mind is the pilot of the soul.” ― Socrates
“Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book.” — Ven. Fulton J. Sheen
“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.” — Charles R. Swindoll
“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life.” — Plato
“Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in the search of it when he has grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul.” ― Epicurus
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” — Lao Tzu
“If we want to reach real peace in this world, we should start educating children.” — Mahatma Gandhi
“No man is born wise; but wisdom and virtue require a tutor; though we can easily learn to be vicious without a master.” — Seneca
“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.” — Confucius
“Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil.” — Plato
“Education is not a thing apart from life—not a ‘system,’ nor a philosophy; it is direct teaching how to live and how to work.” ― Booker T. Washington
“So much does the moral health depend upon the moral atmosphere that is breathed, and so great is the influence daily exercised by parents over their children by living a life before their eyes, that perhaps the best system of parental instruction might be summed up in these two words: ‘Improve thyself.’” — Samuel Smiles
“There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.” — Mahatma Gandhi
“Your call will become clear as your mind is transformed by the reading of Scripture and the internal work of God's Spirit. The Lord never hides His will from us. In time, as you obey the call first to follow, your destiny will unfold before you. The difficulty will lie in keeping other concerns from diverting your attention.” — Charles R. Swindoll
“The cultivation of the intellect is man's highest good and purest happiness” ― Aristotle
“Your world is a living expression of how you are using and have used your mind.” — Earl Nightingale
“Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.” — Socrates
“If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life.” — Plato
“Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.” ― Aristotle
“Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already; and that just as the eye was unable to turn from darkness to light without the whole body, so too the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned from the world of becoming into that of being, and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being, and of the brightest and best of being, or in other words, of the good.” ― Plato
“Virtue depends partly upon training and partly upon practice; you must learn first, and then strengthen your learning by action.” — Seneca
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