Changed: CCV StudentsSample

GARBAGE IN - GARBAGE OUT

Perhaps you’ve heard the old expression, “garbage in – garbage out.” It’s probably something your Grandma said, because it’s kind of an old phrase. But what it means is that if you fill your mind with “garbage,” then you’re going to start to see “garbage” in your life. Well, in case you were doubting your grandma, it turns out she’s right…and the Bible backs her up. What we choose to watch, listen to, read, hang around…whatever we put into our minds WILL start to affect our lives. You may think that sounds way too old fashioned or restrictive, but it’s simply true. Still not convinced? I bet if you thought about it for a minute, you could think of a word that you now use all the time that ultimately came from the world around you. When I was in high school, a friend of mine constantly used the word “fella,” and without ever consciously deciding to adopt that word, I found myself saying “fella” in ordinary conversations. I bet you have one of those “fella” words in your life too. 

And here’s the deal - there’s nothing wrong with the word “fella,” and there may not be anything wrong with the word in your life either. But it illustrates a much bigger principle – what we take into our minds WILL come out in our lives in one way or another. This becomes a problem when we aren’t careful about the things we choose to put into our minds. The music we listen to, the stuff we watch online, the social media accounts we follow…all of that stuff is seeping imperceptibly into our minds and slowly transforming us. It affects how we think, feel, speak and behave…even if you think it doesn’t, I can assure you it is slowly changing you. 

Again, following Jesus is not about a long list of do’s and don’ts – this isn’t about only watching Pixar movies and listening to nothing but Christian radio in the car – this is about recognizing the fact that putting a bunch of negative, offensive, and unbiblical material into your minds will affect your relationship with God. Jesus isn’t going to be mad at you, and He certainly isn’t going to leave you or anything…but it will slowly pull you away from Him. If you want to stay closely connected to Jesus, if you want your relationship with Him to keep growing, then you need to make conscious and careful choices about what you choose to put into your mind. If you want a quick trick to help with this, simply ask yourself this question: “would I watch/listen to/read this if Jesus were physically sitting right next to me?” That’s a pretty convicting question, but it can help us filter out some of the stuff that we just don’t need to be putting into our minds. 

Read the following passages and then spend some time in prayer asking God to open your eyes to anything in your life that you shouldn’t be putting into your mind. Then, find a way to remove, unsubscribe, or distance yourself from that stuff.