[T]ake captive every thought
to make it obedient to Christ.
—2 Corinthians 10:5
I live in an apartment complex that has trash pickup.
There are rules: trash must be in a tied garbage bag, placed inside a specified receptacle, and left outside the front door between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Ignore the rules and trash either grows large in your apartment or piles up on your porch; either way, it stinks.
Do you have trash accumulating in your house? Too much fussing? Too much complaining? Too much anger? Bag it and take it out today, or tomorrow the smell will drive family and friends away and leave you isolated in your own pig pen.
You don’t have to let the trash take over your space. You have another option: “Never go to bed angry—don’t give the devil that sort of foothold” (Eph 4:26–27 Phillips); “take every thought captive to make it obey Christ” (2 Cor 5:10 NET).
Some people are always out of sorts
but never out of people to blame.