Deliver Us From Evil

You are what you eat.

Garbage in, garbage out.

You reap what you sow.

Bad seed, bad fruit.

Input determines output.

You’ve heard at least one of these before.  Perhaps this is the kind of thing your mom or dad would say to you when you questioned why you couldn’t watch a certain show or movie.

Whatever the situation, the message is the same:  What you let into your mind will affect your mind and your heart.

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

When I was a kid my parents were fairly strict about what my brother and I could and could not watch on t.v.  I wasn’t allowed to watch the Power Rangers, or the Simpsons, and I’m sure there were others. 

At the time I thought it was ridiculous.  Like most kids, I could not see the reasoning behind these rules and I thought I had it worse than other kids in my class.

Now that I have kids of my own…. I obviously understand what my parents were doing.  They wanted to protect my mind and heart.

We must do the same for ourselves, even as adults. We have to learn to protect our minds and our hearts from letting outside influences in. 

The world is full of things that, if we take them too lightly, can start to weasel their way into our minds and change our focus. Often times these influences are not bad, or sinful, on their own… but they can cause us to take our focus off of God.

Other times, outside influences can be obviously sinful. If we let ourselves entertain them even just a little bit, we are opening the door to sin having a hold on our hearts. 

So how do we know what to avoid, and how to protect ourselves?

Well, a couple “helpful hints”:

1.Is it obvious?

If something is obviously sinful… you can’t take part.  And if you are involved in it, you must take steps to break your connection to it.  Go to God and others for help and support.

2. Is it questionable but you aren’t sure?

First, if you feel uncomfortable about something… that’s probably a good sign that you shouldn’t take part in it.  If something is not inherently sinful, like drinking alcohol, but you know it doesn’t sound like a good thing for you… it’s not a good thing for you. 

Second, seek guidance.  Go to someone that you trust to help you make the most God honoring decision.  Don’t ask the friend that invited you out to the party… they aren’t a trustworthy source.

3.Trust God to protect you.

Maybe there is something that you have clearly determined is not sinful, and is not dangerous to you. But, you find yourself concerned that there is a spiritual world that you have no control over and you are living in fear of letting in the wrong influence.

Trust that God has authority over your heart and mind. 

Ephesians 6:12

¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

As believers, we can trust that God will protect us and keep us from harm.  Our job is to stay in relationship with Him, trust Him, and follow His lead.

Let me leave you with a quote from A.W. Tozer about any influence other than God’s word:

“Whatever keeps me from my Bible is my enemy, however harmless it may appear to be. Whatever engages my attention when I should be meditating on God and things eternal does injury to my soul. Let the cares of life crowd out the Scriptures from my mind and I have suffered loss where I can least afford it. Let me accept anything else instead of the Scriptures and I have been cheated and robbed to my eternal confusion.” 

(A.W. Tozer, That Incredible Christian)