What Goes In?

If I walk by anyone who has any type of illness, I'll catch it.  OK, that's an exaggeration but sometimes it feels like that.  For those of us with cancer or have had treatments for cancer, our immune system is weak. It is probably the same for others battling other types of diseases. So, now I have a "cold" and have missed church again and Bible study.  

It made me think about my spiritual life and when I am vulnerable spiritually. It had been a rule in our home that what we listen to or watch can get stuck in our minds or what we read can become visible to our subconscious. You have heard, "You are what you eat".  Well, "you are what you watch" and "you are what you listen to" and "you are what you read". What goes in, circles around and around...

A vivid example for me was the horrible news about a father killing himself and two young  sons. Sometimes, I would visualize the horror and be fixated on it.  Yesterday, my first thought went to the Lord holding the little boys in His arms. They are in a violent free, peaceful, loving place: Heaven. I have been reading verses on "Heaven" and so my mind went right to that peaceful place and His loving arms.  What went in did come out right when it was needed.

Books, music, movies, TV, pictures, conversations, articles, all impact our thinking, our outlook. If we live with inappropriate language or subject matter around us "we will catch it". The Lord warns us in Ephesians 6:10 -  17, NLT:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  

Put on the full armor of God, 

so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, 

but against the rulers, 

against the authorities, 

against the powers of this dark world and 

against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  

Therefore put on the full armor of God, 

so that when the day of evil comes, 

you may be able to stand your ground, 

and after you have done everything, to stand.  

Stand firm then, 

with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, 

with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  

and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  

In addition to all this, 

take up the shield of faith, 

with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  

Take the helmet of salvation and 

the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 

We are covered, protected, when we listen and do what God tells us. So, the next time I sit down to watch a TV show that is about inappropriate actions, listen to music where the lyrics are inappropriate words or topics, or read a book about inappropriate subjects, I will think about the two boys who are sitting in the Lord's lap. Then I will remember what is "going in will come out" and won't "catch it".