I made a grave error yesterday. Unfortunately it is one I have made numerous times in the past. I allowed my curiosity about a major local news story to lead me down the path to learning everything I possibly could about the situation. As a result, I went to bed with my mind filled with horrible and tragic things.
I spent a restless night filled with terrible dreams, including one in which I was falsely arrested. The arresting officer was going through my purse at a table with other police personnel. I could tell that they, by tracking my receipts, were getting the accurate picture of boring housewife and becoming convinced that I was innocent of whatever they had suspected me of (I don't know what that was).
I had stupidly soaked my mind in filth and tragedy by researching the local story. I am reminded that the Bible exhorts us to keep our eyes on Jesus and our minds on things that are of "good report." This is a hard one for a newshound like me to abide by! I am not going to stop watching the news. I will, however, try to avoid over-learning (and over-sharing with friends and husband) about any one particular negative story. I have always been pretty good about guarding the gates of my mind when it comes to television and movies. I guard my spirit when it comes to horror movies, or anything with a demonic bent. I do not watch programming dealing with people who talk to the dead or tell the future, as the Bible is very clear on that subject. (Isaiah 8:19-20).
Guarding our spirits, especially for those of us who work from home or who are at home most of the day, is very, very difficult in this super-high-tech age. Overwhelming amounts of information are available at our fingertips in an instant on any topic we choose. But we do not get a pass. We have to do it. We simply must. We are human, just like the people who have erred to the point of making the news. If we do not guard our hearts, minds and spirits, pouring God's Word and wholesome content into them, we are two steps away from big mistakes ourselves. We never want to let our hearts become contaminated with the filth of the world, and then hardened to it.
I spent a restless night filled with terrible dreams, including one in which I was falsely arrested. The arresting officer was going through my purse at a table with other police personnel. I could tell that they, by tracking my receipts, were getting the accurate picture of boring housewife and becoming convinced that I was innocent of whatever they had suspected me of (I don't know what that was).
I had stupidly soaked my mind in filth and tragedy by researching the local story. I am reminded that the Bible exhorts us to keep our eyes on Jesus and our minds on things that are of "good report." This is a hard one for a newshound like me to abide by! I am not going to stop watching the news. I will, however, try to avoid over-learning (and over-sharing with friends and husband) about any one particular negative story. I have always been pretty good about guarding the gates of my mind when it comes to television and movies. I guard my spirit when it comes to horror movies, or anything with a demonic bent. I do not watch programming dealing with people who talk to the dead or tell the future, as the Bible is very clear on that subject. (Isaiah 8:19-20).
Guarding our spirits, especially for those of us who work from home or who are at home most of the day, is very, very difficult in this super-high-tech age. Overwhelming amounts of information are available at our fingertips in an instant on any topic we choose. But we do not get a pass. We have to do it. We simply must. We are human, just like the people who have erred to the point of making the news. If we do not guard our hearts, minds and spirits, pouring God's Word and wholesome content into them, we are two steps away from big mistakes ourselves. We never want to let our hearts become contaminated with the filth of the world, and then hardened to it.
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