You’ve probably heard it said that you should be careful what you allow into your mind and heart. And so you should. But the issue is not so much with what you allow in is as it is with what you allow out.

And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.”

Mark 7:20 (ESV)

Speaking to his disciples, Jesus went on to say,

“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Mark 7:21-23 (ESV)

Wait. What? Hasn’t the media been telling us the evil is all around us? That evil is being done to us? It doesn’t come out of us. Or does it?

Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.

Proverbs 4:23 (NCV)

I recently read an article that spoke about how people – here, college students (but it applies to all of us) – are told what to think. It doesn’t take much perusing through news sites to validate the truth of this statement. All around us, we – yes, we Christians – are allowing other people to tell us what to think and how we should think.

While we may not be able to prevent the bad things from going in, we can certainly stop the things that defile us from coming out.

Do not be shaped by this world; instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.

Romans 12:2 (NCV)

Being inundated with worldly opinions all day every day, I need to ask myself if I am being shaped by the world or if I am shaping the world around me. Do I allow the thoughts being projected at me to shape the way I think or do I daily renew my mind to a new way of thinking – a way that is good and pleasing to God and perfect – so that I can shape the world around me?

Daily Bible reading: Numbers 21-23, Mark 7:14-8:10