Colossians 3:2 – “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
John 15:19 – “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
We have been told for years to be wary about what we put in our minds.
Older Christians have made it a point to tell us this and to tell us to guard our hearts. The information that enters our minds through our senses is going to determine how we think. Our actions are the cumulative effects of our thoughts, therefore we must be very mindful of those thoughts.
The older generations have warned us about the effects of music and other media on our perceptions and thought processes. They have warned us about the fact that we will become like the people we talk to and hang out with. They give us all this valuable information yet they live in hypocrisy.
The older generation sits in front of the television set watching the news constantly. They take in all the outrage media outlets and become extremely emotionally involved with their perception on the world. They do not realize that they are only getting a brief glimpse of the world through the filter of whatever news station they are listening to. Through this they become entangled with the world and depressed about its state. They think the world is coming to an end, just as older people have thought for decades now. They are disillusioned to the state of reality.
Even in all their wisdom, the older people do not realize that they are committing the same evils that they have warned against.
They are allowing the state of the world to affect their faith. There is nothing wrong with watching the news and being politically aware, but when it starts to negatively impact our faith, we need to consider taking a step back.
Remove any impediment to God that exists.
Application
You may find yourself living in hypocrisy. You tell others to avoid putting garbage in their mind because you know it will damage your faith, yet you still put different garbage in your own mind.
Reduce the amount of negative, outrage media that you ingest. The world will keep spinning even if you pay a little less attention to it. If you are too deep in an addiction to outrage (which is why many people watch the news in the first place) then you need to fast from media for a determined period of time. Maybe a week, maybe a month, it depends on how severely you have twisted your mind. You have forgotten that God is in control and nations will rise and fall based on what He has determined to be right.
Remember that everything that will happen is already known in the mind of God. Remember that we know how our story ends, with good as the victor and with all evil eliminated.
Correct your thoughts.
Purge your mind of worldliness.
