The witty writer and Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton shared this sage advice: “the object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”[1] Like many proverbs, this requires some interpretation. What does it mean to open your mind? And what might it mean to shut your mind on something solid?
Well, just like we open our mouths to eat or drink, so we open our minds to learn or be entertained. In fact, we open our minds whenever we give our attention to something new. When we look out the window or look at our screens, when we read an article or watch a movie, when we login to YouTube or Instagram, we’re opening our minds to whatever those things have to say or show. And we only close our minds when we stop and digest what we’ve received. And Chesterton is saying we need to spend more time with our minds shut; shut on something solid, something worth digesting.
Chesterton shared his proverb that about a century ago because he was concerned with how people consumed the news. And if he was concerned back then when the news came in a newspaper once a day, how much more should we be concerned today when our news feeds update constantly? Chesterton’s main concern was that we reach conclusions about things and not always remain “open minded.”
Today, I think his concern would be that we simply take in less information. That we simply close our minds more. That’s because we have so many things offering us information, demanding more and more of our attention. Today, going on the internet with an open mind is like riding a motorcycle on the highway with an open mouth. The internet can feed our open minds with information so fast that it’s like we’re speeding down the highway on our motorcycle with a mouth full of bugs.
Is it any surprise that today our attention is so frantic and fragmented? We zip from one idea to the next; we go from celebrating one close friend’s joy to mourning over footage from a tragedy half-way around the world in one swipe of a finger. No wonder we feel constantly anxious. And our minds are exhausted. This is no way to live.
Indeed, Scripture calls us direct our attention with great care because we become like what we behold. Soloman repeatedly calls his son to “give attention that you may gain understanding” (Prov 4:1) and to “give attention to my wisdom” (Prov 5:1). Solomon is addressing his son; inviting his son to receive the wisdom that Solomon has gained in life. Ultimately, Solomon is calling his son to become wise just like him. That’s why he says: Pay attention to my words, my instruction. Pay attention to what I pay attention to; seek to become wise like me. Solomon knows that what we behold shapes who we become.
Given Solomon’s insight, then what we pay attention to really matters. The greater attention we give someone or something, the greater power that person or thing has to shape our desires, our loves. Notice how the Psalmist in Psalm 119:36-37 recognizes this truth and prays accordingly:
Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.
We were made for so much more than the trivialities of the internet. The gift of our attention is ultimately given for our joy in God. We were made to become like God. Notice how Paul connects beholding and becoming in 2 Corinthians 3:18:
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another”
That’s where we’re headed. Beholding God through his Word and his world transforms us into his image. God’s good design in giving us attention is for us to become like him. When we worship God—when we behold him as God—he is transforming us into the image of his Son Jesus.
This is why the academic programs here at Bethlehem College and Seminary demand that students close their minds on solid truths. We do not aim merely to impart information to the open minds of students. Rather, we require students to “give attention that [they] may gain understanding” (Prov 4:1). No matter what program a student embarks on at Bethlehem, we invite them to close their minds on the deep things of God communicated in his Word and his world, so that they might be transformed into his image.
Zach Howard, Ph.D.
Academic Dean & Assistant Professor of Theology and Humanities
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that our students would become increasingly transformed into the image of Christ during their time with us.
- Pray for our students and faculty as they rest and enjoy family and friends over break.
- Pray for those preparing for and attending Serious Joy: The Bethlehem Conference for Pastors.
- Pray for the full funding of The Serious Joy Scholarships needed for this academic year.
[1] G. K. Chesterton, The Autobiography of G. K. Chesterton (New York: Sheed & Ward, 1936), 228-29.