Scripture: Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Devotional: Have you ever watched a rom-com and suddenly felt inspired to make a grand, sweeping romantic gesture? Or maybe you have watched a movie like Taken and are convinced that you have all of the necessary skills to like Liam Neeson in real life. While these are temporary examples of being impacted by what we watch, the point stands on a much larger scale as well.
Take, for example, the documentary Super Size Me. This documentary impacted McDonald’s profits the following year, reduced the amount of sodium in fast food, and made nutrition information more readily available. All because of the amount of people who watched a show about a man who only ate McDonald’s for an entire month.
We must be careful what we watch and listen to, as it impacts our behavior and viewpoint. We must guard our hearts from music, podcasts, and movies that promote and encourage things that we disagree with. Listening to music that uses explicit language means that you are more likely to use that explicit language yourself. Watching pornography means that you are living in sexual immorality because you are indulging and glorifying sex outside of marriage.
The verse for today says that everything flows out from our heart, so guard it. Guard your heart and mind by guarding what you watch and listen to.
Reflect:
- What are some things that you listen to or watch that may be breeding impurity in your heart? What can you replace them with?