Change the Root, Change the Fruit: How Your Thinking Transforms Your Family

In a world filled with record-high anxiety and mental health challenges, families everywhere are crying out for help. The good news is that God has a powerful plan to save and restore families - but it starts with something you might not expect: changing how you think.

Why Your Family's Problems Start in Your Mind

The foundation of every family's health begins with thinking. As Proverbs 23:7 tells us, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." This isn't just ancient wisdom - it's a practical truth that affects every aspect of your family life.

When you pray "God, save my family," the answer must begin with your mindset and ideology. Jesus understood this principle so well that the very first word He spoke when He began preaching was "repent" - which simply means to change your thinking.

The Power of Lordship in Your Life

Acts 16:31 gives us a powerful promise: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household." Notice it doesn't just say "believe on Jesus" - it says "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."

When Jesus is truly Lord of your life, everything you think becomes subject to His thinking. This means:

• If you think you should do one thing but Jesus directs another, you follow Jesus
• Your preferences become secondary to His wisdom
• Your decisions align with His will, not your comfort

This isn't about having a "designer Jesus" that fits your lifestyle. It's about surrendering to the real Lord Jesus who has the supernatural power to save families.

How Thinking Creates Your Family's Reality

The Root and Fruit Principle

Jesus taught us in Luke 6:45 that "out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks." What's in your heart - your thinking - determines what comes out in your life and family.

Dr. Carolyn Leaf, a research neuroscientist, explains that "as we think, we change the physical nature of our brain. As we consciously direct our thinking, we can wire out toxic patterns of thinking and replace them with healthy thoughts."

This means you can literally rewire your brain to:

• Wire out fear and replace it with faith
• Wire out rage and replace it with peace
• Wire out greed and replace it with generosity
• Wire out critical thinking and replace it with love

What God Has Given You

Second Timothy 1:7 reminds us: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Instead of meditating on what God hasn't given you, focus on what He has provided - power, love, and sound thinking.

Breaking Free from Cursed Thinking

You Don't Have to Live Under the Curse

The story of Achan in Joshua 7 shows us how wrong thinking can destroy an entire family. Achan brought cursed items into his home because he valued temporary pleasure over God's commands. His thinking amplified the curse rather than the blessing.

But here's the good news: Galatians 3:13 tells us that "Christ purchased our freedom, redeeming us from the curse." You don't have to get what you deserve - you can have what Jesus deserves.

Living from Your New Identity

Second Corinthians 5:21 reveals an amazing truth: "In and through him we might become the righteousness of God." In Christ, you are what you ought to be - approved, accepted, and in right relationship with God.

This isn't based on your goodness but on Jesus' goodness. When you understand this, you stop trying to earn God's favor and start living from the confidence of already having it.

Practical Steps to Transform Your Family

Start Where You Have Authority

The Save My Family plan begins with this simple prayer: "God, give me your thinking in place of my thinking." When you authorize this exchange, something powerful happens in the spiritual realm.

Instead of:

• Worrying about your children and trying to control them with words
• Nagging your spouse about what they're not doing
• Obsessing over problems you can't solve

You begin to:

• Trust God with your family members
• Celebrate what God is doing rather than focusing on what's wrong
• Study God's word for stories of His power working in people's lives

Change Your Daily Habits

Transforming your thinking requires intentional daily practices:

Morning and Evening Bible Reading: Start with just two minutes in the morning and two minutes before bed. Focus on Proverbs or the four Gospels to hear what Jesus actually said.

Censor Your Entertainment: Remove content that doesn't align with godly thinking. What you consume mentally affects your family spiritually.

Transform Your Speech: Stop talking negatively about your family situation. Start speaking possibility, optimism, and faith.

Limit Social Media: Much of social media promotes broken thinking rather than biblical, overcoming thoughts. Replace scrolling time with God's word.

Avoiding Faith Distortions

When Good Intentions Aren't Enough

Many people have good intentions but produce bad fruit because their thinking is distorted. For example, a father who volunteers extensively at church while neglecting his own children is operating from distorted thinking.

Jesus addressed this in Mark 7, criticizing religious leaders who created rules that allowed people to neglect their families in the name of serving God. True godly thinking always strengthens family relationships, not weakens them.

The Danger of Designer Christianity

Today's culture often promotes a "designer Jesus" that conveniently fits personal preferences. This version of Christianity doesn't have the power to save families because it's not the real Lord Jesus.

The real Jesus:

• Convicts us of what's hurting us
• Produces genuine comfort and change
• Requires surrender of our will to His
• Has supernatural power to transform families

Life Application

This week, commit to changing the root of your thinking to change the fruit in your family. Begin each day by surrendering your thoughts to God and asking for His perspective on your family situation.

Instead of trying to be the savior of your family, recognize that Jesus is the Savior. Your role is to align your thinking with His and trust Him to work in ways you cannot.

Questions for Reflection:

1. What areas of your thinking need to be surrendered to God's perspective?
2. How might your current thought patterns be contributing to your family's challenges?
3. What specific steps will you take this week to replace worldly thinking with God's thinking?
4. Are you trying to be the savior of your family instead of trusting Jesus to be the Savior?

Remember: You have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). When you change the root of your thinking, you will see the fruit of your family life transform. Trust God's process, surrender your thoughts to His wisdom, and watch Him work in ways that exceed your expectations.

~Dr. Stephen Marshall