Input or Output

Many of us want to have healthy bodies and therefore are careful about what we eat and drink. Some of us exercise.  Some of us do better at these things than others.

Jesus wasn’t against us having healthy bodies but He taught us that the way we behave with our bodies is only as good as what we fill our minds and hearts with.

Jesus said:  It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart. 

Mark 7:16 

What is coming out of us – what kind of thoughts and desires to we have when others do things we don’t like or agree with?  What kinds of words and actions do we have when we are frustrated or anxious?

Jesus is challenging us today to consider what’s behind our irritations and anger, our impatience and judgments, our aggressive words or, on the other hand, apathy or not caring about things that matter.

And so we need to ask ourselves what kind of input is informing our thoughts and emotions?  What are we watching or listening to on social media or screens that runs counter to God’s way of dealing with others?  What gossip are we listening to and allowing to impact how we think about or interact with someone?  What values from our culture have we embraced that run counter to God’s way of community, compassion and care?

Our attitudes and actions are helpful indicators to us of what we’ve taken into our hearts because change starts from the inside and if the inside is regularly polluted by what we see and hear, the only way to experience real change is to start there.  Input/output.

Loving God, We want to be cleaned up and freed from anything that would cause us to stumble in our new life with You.  Forgive us for blaming anything other than ourselves for our imperfect attitudes, words, and actions. Help us today to abandon harmful activities and interactions and get our insides cleaned up. 

Help us to put Your new ways into our hearts so new and right words and behaviours can come out in our daily behaviours and interactions with others. Amen

So, input/output, output/input – what needs changing and what will we allow God to help us change so that adjustment takes place?