A Sound Mind

W. Carl Ketcherside

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     The first essential to a well regulated mind is the cultivation of a habit of undistracted attention. This means that the mind must be concentrated on a subject, so that all the powers of intellect are directed to an investigation of that subject in all of its elements and relations. This is the foundation of all mental growth. Every intellectual process is dependent on it. Moral character is shaped by recognition and practice of this principle.

     "The life of a man of divided loyalty will reveal instability at every turn" (James 1:8). Divided loyalty is the ultimate result of misdirection of the mind. In turn, this generally stems from lack of regulating the attention so that there is no proper consideration of any subject in the light of its antecedents and consequences. We need to discipline our minds. A rolling stone gathers no moss, and a wandering mind accumulates little real knowledge. Most adults who are unsettled, vacillating, and unable to make decisions, could trace their failure to youthful indiscretion in pampering their minds, by giving in to every vagary or stray thought.

     The world today demands clear thinking persons of conviction. We are subjected to foreign and alien ideologies. These must be met on the field of reason, or their proponents will be faced on the field of battle. We pay in tension, international distrust, and bloodshed, for our neglect and indifference in the realm of thought. The person who develops a clear rational mind is a real benefactor to the age in which he lives. We should not make the mistake of thinking that we may give way to our inclinations when young, and then suddenly reverse the process when we grow older. Our youthful folly may dog our steps and dampen our hopes to the brink of the grave.

                How shall I a habit break?
                As you did that habit make.
                As you gathered you must lose;
                As you yielded, now refuse,
                Thread by thread the strands we twist
                Till they bind us, neck and wrist;
                Thread by thread the patient hand
                Must untwine, ere free we stand.
                As we builded, stone by stone,
                We must toil, unhelped, alone,
                Till the wall is overthrown.

     To develop a sound mind you should form the habit of attempting but one thing at a time, and giving it your undivided attention. This is not easy in our complex world. There will be a constant temptation to give in. Your resolution will be battered by outside influences which clamor for attention. Many young people are unconsciously laying the foundation of an unstable life. You cannot, for instance, study a lesson and watch a television program at the same time. If you have a mathematics lesson for tomorrow, and you spread your book on a table while an interesting program is on the screen you are doing an injustice to yourself. Your aim is to derive the advantage from the lesson and the pleasure from the program. You achieve neither objective. The uneasy feeling down inside you that you ought to be studying mars the enjoyment of the program, while your investigation of the lesson is superficial and useless.

     The tendency is to shove the mathematics lesson aside and focus attention on the television program. This may be a real crime against your own person. The program may be wholesome entertainment. The wrong is not in the television set, nor in the nature of the program. The sin lies in the injury you do to your will and reasoning faculties. You make a wrong choice. You destroy your sense of values. You give pleasure and entertainment priority in life over duty and responsibility. You plant the seed of indifference toward your purpose in life. The fruit from that seed is always bitter and acrid.

     The road to success is paved with sacrifice. Pleasure deferred may bring rich reward. Indulgence of present whims may mean eventual loss of that which is most important. Start now, in high school, to deny yourself that which you crave in

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order to meet the obligations imposed by the present. The motto of Paul was "This one thing I do!" He was an example of the undivided life. Concentration may be closely akin to consecration.

                 Dwell deep! Forego the pleasure if it bring
                     Neglect of duty; consecrate each thought;
                Believe thou in the good of everything
                     And trust that all unto the wisest end is wrought.
                Bring thou this comfort unto all who weep:
                     Dwell deep, my soul, dwell deep!