I have notes taped up around the house with one of my favorite Bible passages, the “whatsoever” passage. “…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely…think on these things.”
I need to be reminded of this often because it’s so easy to place some ugly, untrue, impure things into our minds.
Mel and I relax in front of our favorite shows at night when we crash from a day’s work. Unfortunately, we’ve discovered lately that sometimes those shows, which are very popular with a lot of people, tend to be getting darker and darker. When we’re weak or susceptible, those shows can cause depression–homicide cop shows, high adventure, even sometimes comedy. They give me nightmares.
The nightmares have brought home to me the truth of the favorite passage of scripture above. Some things can be fun to watch, to read, to do, but I need to ask myself if it’s something that is uplifting, pure, lovely.
Sometimes a habit is hard to break. I’m in the middle of breaking a habit right now that is particularly difficult, but breaking bad habits, if we persist in doing good, will help heal us in the end.