Brainwashed

Written by Brandon LaRue on January 9, 2020. Posted in Blog, Uncategorized.

I was having breakfast with a guy that I hadn’t seen in years, like 20 years. I was a couple years ahead of him in school, but we played on the same football team together. I had heard that God had done a miracle in his life and has absolutely transformed him in every way a man can be transformed. After visiting for a couple minutes I just came out and asked him about what Jesus had done in his life. Who doesn’t love to hear a great story of redemption after all?

What I’ll never get tired of seeing and hearing, is when someone is radically changed by the love of Christ, how they speak of their past without shame or guilt. And it’s not like they don’t wish they could have a do over, but they speak as if they are a brand new person and they are talking about their old self as if that person didn’t exist anymore. It says in the Bible in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” That’s exactly how this guy was talking when he spoke about his past, where he struggled with addiction to alcohol and drugs. He was a new creation! He had explained how God had taken him from rock bottom, near suicide, and changed his life. All one can do is just say, “Wow!” For those yet to believe, there may be a follow up question like, “How can God do that?” Maybe this guy was just BRAINWASHED?

Yep, he was.

I’ve been brainwashed also.

Do a quick google search for definitions of Brainwash, and you’ll come up with:

make (someone) adopt radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible pressure.
a method for systematically changing attitudes or altering beliefs, originated in totalitarian countries, especially through the use of torture, drugs, or psychological-stress techniques.

As I sat and talked with this guy, he mentioned that after he gave his life to Christ, he went to a bible school for a couple years and just had a “brainwash,” as he put it. Him using that word caught me off guard, so I asked him, “what do you mean you were brainwashed?” In the literal sense, he meant, I had to let God wash my brain. I had so much negativity, anger, neurotic thoughts, and sinful habits that had made their way into my mental hardware. I had to get it washed!” I thought, that’s brilliant! I mean we all wash our bodies from the dirt, sweat, and grime that accumulates on it daily, yet how many people wash their brain? Furthermore, how many people wash their brain with the love of Christ and the source of infinite wisdom? The thing about God though is He is never forceful, never pressuring, and never tortures. As I type this I went back to the contemporary definitions and looked at the antonym (opposite) of “brainwashing” and the words that come up are:

Enlightenment
Informing
Revelation

My friend referenced the Bible verse Ephesians 5:26, which is oftentimes used in the context of a marriage ceremony, but it says, “to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.” As he was talking, I also couldn’t help but think about the verse from Romans 12:2, which is my absolute favorite, and it says, “do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

So, have you washed your brain lately? Are there thoughts that you wouldn’t like in there? Are there addictions found there? Are there belief systems that aren’t supposed to be there? Are there feelings of guilt and shame?

I know I’ve had to “rinse and repeat” many times and still need to daily through the word of God, but when you truly experience the love of Christ, you’ll experience the best brain wash you’ve ever had, and you’ll begin to see life through a new lens as if you were a new creation!

brainwash, Christ, enlightenment, faith, God, Informing, Jesus, love, revelation, testimony