Garbage In, Garbage Out

By Mike Glenn

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

America is in a health crisis. According to the experts who study these things, most Americans are overweight to the point of being obese. Most Americans can’t pass the simplest age appropriate fitness test. This crisis is so bad it has become a threat to our national security. If America had to go to war, we couldn’t find enough young adults who could pass the necessary fitness requirements.

There are several reasons for this. We spend too much time sitting down – working on our computers, watching our screens – all the while snacking on processed foods like potato chips and cookies.

The result is a nation that can’t move and a population that isn’t living well.

To combat this threat, we’re told to exercise and pay attention to what we eat. We’re encouraged to eat fresh vegetables and fruits. We’re told to stay away from processed foods and drinks. If we have to eat processed food, take the time to read the label. Know what’s going into your body before you eat it. Hint: if you can’t pronounce it, it’s probably not good for you. Watch out for hidden sugars and fats. Taking in bad food, we’ve discovered, ends up harming our bodies. Go figure.

And it turns out, what is true of our bodies is true of our minds. While the nation’s medical community is worried about how out of shape our bodies are, somebody needs to be concerned about the shape of our minds – and for the same reasons. Most of us fill our brains with junk and then, we never exercise them. The result is the same. We’ve ended up with flabby brains that can’t respond to the demands of our modern lives.

So, what are we to do? First, take responsibility for what goes into your mind. The problem isn’t that we’re wasting time by mindlessly scrolling through our screens, but that we’re exposing ourselves to images and information that becomes trapped in our brains. Memes are designed to be sticky to our brains. What we see, we don’t forget. These images end up working like stained glass windows and they distort whatever reality we’re focused on.

Pornography is dangerous because the images become the lens through which men view women and relationships. Reality is hopelessly distorted through the pornographic images. Remember, few websites and social media content producers are in it to help us become more like Christ. I know the previous sentence is laughable, but it’s a hard truth. Most of the content on the web isn’t morally neutral. It’s actually harmful to our mental and spiritual well being.

Second, keeping the negative content from getting into your brain is only the first step. Not only do we need to make sure unhealthy stuff isn’t getting into our minds, we need to become more committed to filling our lives with good things – things that do help us grow more and more into the likeness of Christ. Jesus told a story about a man whose life was freed from demonic possession. The demon looked for a new place to live and when he couldn’t find one, the demon returned to the original man. According to Jesus, the demon found the man’s life “swept clean, but empty.” (Does this sound like anyone you know?) The demon moved back in and brought other demons with him. The man ended up being worse off than before. In Philippians, Paul encouraged the early Christians by writing, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Php 4:8).

How do we do that? First, we read the Bible. Don’t read books about the Bible, read the Bible. Make sure the most important source of wisdom, thought, truth and reality in your life comes from the Bible. Read the Bible slowly. Take notes. Talk about what you’re reading with your friends. Practice what you’re learning and take notes and what happens when you directly apply the teachings of Christ to your own life. Carry a Bible with you everywhere you go. Whenever you have a few minutes, read your Bible. Let the Bible form your thoughts, desires, and your character.

Second, read the great books of the faith. There are books published everyday. There are some good books published. There aren’t many great ones. There are a handful of books that have stood the test of time. Books like Augustine’s “Confessions,” Bonhoeffer's “The Cost of Discipleship,” and Dallas Willard’s “The Kingdom Conspiracy,” are books followers of Christ have found to be rich and life-giving regardless of the current circumstances of their lives. Too many Christian books end up being spiritual candy. When you need something solid, read one of the classics.

Third, get in a group where these ideas are discussed. Nothing cements our thinking more than a lively discussion where we have to defend our ideas and listen open mindedly to the thoughts of others. Too many small groups end up being gossip sessions or round tables about the current political events. We need more than this in our lives. Find people who are serious about their Bible study and come with their own notes, insights and questions. Conversations like this can be life changing.

In the great commandment, Jesus told us to love God with all of our minds. Few of us do this. Something tells me if we can get our thinking straight, a lot of other things will straighten out as well.