Garbage In, Garbage Out

"I do not allow into my presence anyone who speaks perversely. Whoever acts shamefully I hate; no such person can be my friend. I shun the devious of heart; the wicked I do not tolerate. Whoever slanders another in secret I reduce to silence. Haughty eyes and arrogant hearts I cannot endure." Psalms 101:3-5

"Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2

"Everything is lawful for me," 5 but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is lawful for me," but I will not let myself be dominated by anything." 1 Cor. 6:12

"Everything is lawful," but not everything is beneficial.  "Everything is lawful," but not everything builds up."
1 Cor. 10:23

"So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds." James 4:7-8

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8

"But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28

"The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be." Matthew 6:22-23

"How can the young walk without fault? Only by keeping your words. With all my heart I seek you; do not let me stray from your commands.  In my heart I treasure your promise, that I may not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your laws. With my lips I recite all the edicts you have spoken. I find joy in the way of your decrees more than in all riches. I will ponder your precepts and consider your paths. In your laws I take delight; I will never forget your word." Psalm 119:9-16

"Then let us no longer judge one another, but rather resolve never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother." Romans 14:13

"that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on 9 the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth." Ephesians 4:22-24

Bible Song:
O be careful little eyes/ears/hands what you see/hear/do
O be careful little eyes/ears/hands what you see/hear/do
There's a Father up above
And He's looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see

Would you watch an R rated movie or listen to a song with questionable lyrics if God or Jesus were standing in the room? Is what you are doing up to God's standards or something that Jesus would want you to do? You should be careful about what you hear, what you see and the places that you go. You live in a world today that is highly sexualized, and the media reflects this Godless culture with cursing, nudity, violence, crude humor and horror. Therefore, you will be in a constant battle with your mind to stay focused on things that are moral and decent, pure and holy to avoid sin. When you are a follower of Christ, you are given the Holy Spirit to live in you to guide your conscience and lead you in truth.


It is easy for you to be influenced by TV, movies, music, magazines, books and the internet. All these forms of media might play into how you think or can affect what you believe because what goes in is what may come out. It can be like a mind virus that will infect your thinking (especially when you hear a stream of cursing now even on television programs). You may think that you like the beat or your music and don't really know what the words are saying but your subconscious mind remembers everything you hear and see, whether you understand it or not. Images you may see and words you may hear can make you stumble on your spiritual journey, and any images or thoughts can stay with you and really damage your soul. Remember, anything that does not help you grow in Christ will only draw you away from Him. As members of the Body of Christ, you should be a holy example of what God has done in your life.

There is no doubt that you are affected by all that is around you like the books you read, music you listen to, and the movies and TV you watch. But it is also true that you are influenced by the friends you choose to hang out with and what society finds acceptable for you to wear or who to look up to. Not only will it affect your mind but also your soul. You should seriously note what you are putting into your life if you watch TV, movies or listen to music that has bad language or other vulgar or obscene content. It will be harder to have the power to overcome temptation if you are weakened by sin. You should instead feed your mind with the things of God, especially by reading the Word of God and looking at the world through the eyes of Scripture. You are moving toward God or away from Him every day and if you do make a mistake in your judgment, you can run to Jesus and ask for his mercy and forgiveness that He has promised all Christians.

God's Word will direct you on how to live in the world today and give you the holy values to guide you in your understanding. You will probably need filters to see the world through the eyes of God. Remember that the Holy Spirit is living inside of you and He sees what you see, hears what you hear and goes where you go. Do you really want to force the Holy Spirit to listen to any filthy music? Just remember in these situations to think, "Is this somewhere where the Holy Spirit would want to be Himself or are my thoughts or principles taught in line with God's Holy Word?" You might think the Bible is full of sin but these stories show the consequences to those who went against God's ways.

There will be a spiritual warfare in your life, and the devil will be at constant attack of your mind. The good news is that you can guard against temptation. It is easy to become addicted to looking at things you shouldn't like pornography. Guys are stimulated by what they see while girls are by what they hear. You need to carefully consider your actions so that they might be pleasing to God. You should think of yourself as an ambassador of God's kingdom and live your life like you are being watched in everything you do. If you truly love God, you will live a holy life and not put garbage into your soul.

You should be imitators of God and not let unholy talk come out of your mouth but only use words which are helpful in building up others when they listen. Then as you grow, you can start making the decisions of what's appropriate or not. You will be able to create your own standards and develop you own ideas on what is right and what is wrong instead of allowing others, the media or society telling you something is okay. You are taught to be in this world, not of this world and just because something is popular does not mean that it is acceptable. So be careful about the things you fill your mind with and monitor your eyes so you will sustain the good values and strong faith beliefs that you have been taught and help you make wise decisions when you have the freedom to choose you own entertainment.   Remember, you are a temple of the Holy Spirit!