Bible Reading: Philippians 4:8
Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Philippians 4:8
BORIS, a big black horsefly, was starving. He buzzed around the outside of the house, banging up against the windows, looking for a hole to get in. He wanted to get inside so he could feast on scraps and crumbs lying around in the kitchen. But the house was locked up tight, and the famished horsefly was getting desperate.
As Boris circled the house again, he spied the garbage can in the backyard. Flying closer, his eyes bugged out with delight. On the grass next to the garbage can was a big hunk of moldy lunch meat that had been thrown away earlier in the day. Boris swooped down and started eating. It was delicious, so he stuffed himself. Even when he thought he couldn’t eat any more, he still kept munching away.
When Boris tried to fly away, he was too bloated to get off the ground. He cranked his wings up to full speed, but he was still too heavy to get airborne. He needed some kind of a head start to launch him into the air. Looking around the yard, he spotted a lawn mower sitting on the sidewalk. He dragged himself heavily to the lawn mower and started climbing up the wheel to the engine. He trudged heavily up the long arm of the mower to the handle. He thought, Now I can jump off and my wings can take over and fly me home.
Boris got his wings buzzing as fast as he could and then stepped off into space. But he was still too heavy, and the chubby horsefly plummeted to the cement and exploded with a splat. Boris’s final thought before impact was I should never fly off the handle when I’m full of baloney.
Whoops. As Boris proved, nothing good ever comes from filling up on garbage.
That’s especially true of some of the garbage you might be tempted to put in your head. It’s not wrong to watch television or videos, or listen to hit music. But God wants you to be wise about just what you put into your mind through the media. There’s a lot of garbage served up by TV programs, videos, and music that are popular in our culture. And what you put into your head can cause you to crash and burn just like Boris did.
You wouldn’t dine on a plate of garbage; be just as discriminating about what you watch and listen to. You don’t want to cram your mind full of suggestive lyrics and sinful activities any more than you want to put rotten meat or moldy bread into your mouth. The bad stuff you let in through your eyes and ears can make you sick just as certainly as eating garbage can.
REFLECT: What are you putting into your head these days? Is it good for you?
PRAY: God, give me your wisdom as I think about the videos, TV, and music I watch and listen to. Help me guard my mind.
