The Theater

July 2

When we talk about ‘the theater, we think of culture and refinement. We think of high-brow people in fine evening clothes attending the opening of new plays. We think of knowledgeable reviewers assessing the quality of not only the playwright’s work but the performances of the actors who are in the cast.

Plays have been the vehicles for the inspiration of great men and innovative ideas, but plays have also been departures into the baser element of the nature of man. As is the case regarding plays and movies and the novels from which they often are derived, so is the ‘theater of the mind.’

The mind of man is capable of devising all manner of thought and from thought springs action; therefore, man is able to act out his thinking in ways that can bring goodness and honor to him as well as in ways that bring about his corruption and ruin. From earliest childhood, the mind of a man is steeped in ideas that will influence him for a lifetime. Therefore the Biblical admonition, “Train up a child in the way he should go…” (Proverbs 22:6) becomes an imperative for every caring parent.

We may endeavor to convince ourselves that our thoughts are our own and they harm no one, but that is not true, for our thoughts come to fruition in our words and in our actions. Therefore, we should follow the admonition of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8 which says, “Whatever things are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable; if there be anything excellent, think of these things.”