If you want to know whether or not a person's heart is proper and his mind is right, you need only talk to him. Whoever can listen well has a good mind. Some Christians' minds are like a wheel; they rotate all day long and cannot listen to what others say to them. Just as the wheel splashes dirt as it rotates, these Christians only raise questions and do not take in the truth. These conditions indicate that a person's mind is improper. The mind is improper because the heart is improper. If a person likes to interrupt the conversation of others, it is also a sign of sickness in the heart. In listening to others, we can sometimes add a few remarks to indicate whether or not we agree, but constant interruption is a sign that there is sickness in the heart.
If the thoughts that go through your mind swirl around and around all day long, your nous must be sick. In this condition, a person cannot listen to others; he cannot even listen to God's speaking. The root of the sickness is in the heart. A self-righteous, self-confident heart, a heart that believes in its own cleverness, or some prejudice in the heart makes it impossible for one to listen to others. Not being able to listen to others is a sickness of the nous. But the root of this sickness is an improper heart. No matter what we hear, we have to transfer what we hear to our inner being before we can understand it. This work of transferring is somewhat like the work of language translation. For people who do not understand English, words must first be translated into Chinese before they can be understood. This work of "translation" within us goes on quickly. If a man cannot understand what others say, it means that his nous cannot translate. If a man misunderstands what others say, it means that the nous mistranslates. Once I was preaching in a certain place, and I told the people that man is saved not according to work, but according to what Christ has accomplished. There were two Taoists in the audience. After hearing my words, they told others, "He was only exhorting others to do good!" Many people are filled up inside; they cannot receive God's word. If we do not empty out what is inside of us, we will never be able to understand the Word of God. Our heart should be as meek as a child's, ready to be taught before God. We must tell Him, "God, I do not know if what this person says is good or bad, right or wrong. I pray that You grant me judgment, so that I will know what is right and what is wrong." By this, we will understand and see what God wants us to see. Many people think that the inability to understand the truth is due to the sickness of the mind. Actually, the basic cause is the sickness of the heart.
Some people think too much with their head; others are too empty in their head and do not think at all. Sometimes people are inwardly lazy; they do not want to think too much. Sometimes people feel dull in their head and cannot think properly. A Christian's mental condition mainly falls within these two categories: either it continues to think without stopping, or it is idle and not thinking at all. Some believers have a very bad memory and can only rely on their diary. I personally do not object to a diary. But if a believer only relies on his diary to remember things, his head must be sick. Mrs. Penn-Lewis said that believers should not be the slaves of their diaries. Of course, we all have times that we forget. Some things have not formed a deep impression in our mind and are forgotten. This is natural. But if the impression is deep enough, and we still cannot remember, something must be wrong. Being an amnesiac or forgetting things too easily is abnormal. If we cannot direct our thoughts, it is the symptom of a sick mind. The only time our limbs cannot be used is when they are paralyzed. In the same way, the only reason that the mind cannot be exercised is because it is sick. Once a man cannot think for himself and can only act according to the thoughts given by others, he becomes a mentally passive person. A mind which cannot think is sick, while a believer's mind which thinks constantly is also sick. Thinking constantly speaks of the mind's inability to stop, while failing to think speaks of the mind's inability to move. Both are wrong. Some people's minds are dull and seemingly bound; they cannot think at all. This condition is as sick as not being able to stop the thoughts.