I find I enjoy junk food way too much, so much so that I can’t even store it in the kitchen. In our house, we have a small back room we use for extra storage that is unheated and separated from the house by a door. That is where we keep our chips and miscellaneous junk food. It is far enough away that we have to make a decision that we want a treat and then we have to walk to the back of the house to get it. It is our way of slowing us down from grabbing a bag out of the kitchen cupboard and gulping down the entire contents without thinking.
Why is it that we so crave the salt and fat content of those treats but don’t exactly feel the same about lettuce and carrots? Of course, the health experts have plenty of very complex reasons to answer this, but my own opinion is that chips just satisfy my taste buds like carrots do not. When I want a potato chip nothing else will do – and believe me I’ve tried everything else and really nothing else will do. I have finally acknowledged that chips are a special feel-good treat that I must force myself to limit. I use the much quoted “moderation in all things” to keep myself in line.
I think of entertainment in the same way. I love reading a good mystery, but I have to throw in a biography or other true story to keep my mind in good working order. Daily, I read my Bible because it is through those true stories that I keep my mind full of God’s goodness. Paul wrote, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” (Phil. 4:8). I must think about those better things if I want to keep my mind and heart pure and ready to understand God’s words.
It stands to reason if I want to keep my mind on the right track, I can’t be continuously feeding myself mental junk food. I must have the mental carrots and lettuce as well, those nutritious things God has provided so that I can better understand the words of God and how they apply to my life.
For example, if I watched murder mysteries all the time my view on life and death would become skewed. The TV shows are often so graphic that they frequently show the goriness of murder followed up by the goriness of the autopsy. The horror of death then becomes mundane and numbs the soul to no longer be a horror.
The Garden of Eden was a place where we could live forever with our God, but sin came into the Garden and we were put out into the world where sin equals death. Considering this makes me wonder why there are so many books, TV shows, and movies surrounding the theme of death. Are they numbing us to the punishment for our sin and thereby numbing us to sin itself?
About ten years ago I started being very careful in selecting the authors that I read. I love to read and it is a joy to me but I would get half way through a book and come across a passage where my Savior’s name was used as a curse word. It became so offensive to me that eventually I found I needed to close the book and return it to the library unfinished. It was hard to do this because some of the writings are wonderful otherwise. But, I am determined to do this because I didn’t want to become numb to the improper use of Jesus’ name.
It broke my heart that some authors I have enjoyed felt the need to use Jesus’ name this way when it was so uncalled for. If possible, I contacted the author to let them know that although I enjoyed their work I would no longer be reading their books because of this negative
use of Jesus’ name. We must remember that the third commandment God gave us was to not use His name in vain.
During this time of reflection, I found a website listing Christian authors by genre and I started going through that list which brought me to many great authors and more life affirming stories. It was as if I was enjoying the chips but they were now healthy for me.
Also, I made a list of authors of the books I had returned so that I wouldn’t misstep again. That was an act of preventing the bad junk from entering my mind. Trying to keep my mind and heart pure in today’s world takes some effort. It is a real job to make a good habit stay in place, but I find it has been well worth it. I have enjoyed an endless list of great new authors and stories.
Presently I am reading about William Wilberforce who, with his political position in government, was instrumental in stopping Britain’s involvement in the slave trade in the late 1700s. Along the way he also helped change the public’s opinion of slavery from one of acceptance to one of offense. The book tells how his life was led in this direction by an awakening of his faith in God. What a privilege to be used in such a way by God and I believe this can only happen when our minds are filled with the words of God and by focusing on the list of better things that the Apostle Paul told us to think about.
I am determined to keep my mind pure, my heart filled with love for my Savior, and to seek all that God wants me to do in the time I have left. I am no William Wilberforce, but God can use me in His way and in His timing and He can use you too.
