This weekend, I was quite busy around my condo, cleaning out some stuff, doing laundry, working on some updates to my websites, and thinking and focusing on God and what it means to truly follow Him and TRUST Him. While cleaning out some stuff, I came across this book that I had bought over a year ago at a garage sale. It was a biography of a guy who had been a counter intelligence agent (or spy as you might call him) during the cold war, and looked like it would be interesting. By late Sunday afternoon, I was a little tired, so I decided to sit down and relax and read for a little while, and I picked up this book and sat down on my couch to read.
The book started out just fine as it began way back in the 1940’s when this guy was a kid, and talked about his childhood and how they moved around all the time because his father had been in the military as well. And as the true story progressed, I began to get rather interested in this intruiging book, but then as he told the story of his teen years and then into adulthood, there began to be some language that I didn’t like. Everytime I’d read a bad word, I’d cringe, and would just think, “well, he didn’t need to put that in there.”, but I would continue on reading because the book was VERY interesting. Then, as he began to tell about his career and the other agents who both worked for the USA and for other countries, he would mention about inproper relationships that some of the agents would have with people just to get information out of them. He didn’t go into any lurid details about the affairs and things, he would just mention them briefly. But that was enough to get one’s mind thinking in the wrong direction.
I stopped reading and sat there for a moment. Yes, the book was very interesting and intruiging, but what I had been thinking about all weekend resounded in my mind – what does it truly mean to follow Jesus? And I said to myself, “I shouldn’t be reading this.” I promptly got up off the couch, took the book over to the trash can, and threw it away. If we are TRULY wanting to KNOW Jesus Christ and have a PERSONAL relationship with Him, we HAVE to seek to PLEASE HIM in ALL that we do!
The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” I know that in today’s society, we are so overwhelmed with entertainment and pleasures that we completely ignore God’s commandments, and argue, “Well, there’s nothing wrong with a little entertainment. Everyone does it.” But there is something wrong with filling our mind with stuff that is against God’s Word.
Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.” And whether that “company” is another person or group of people, or something we are spending our time doing, like watching television, a movie, or reading a book, it MATTERS! The more we fill our minds with the things and lifestyles of this world, the less we find ourselves seeking after God with ALL of our hearts! And UNLESS we seek him with ALL of our hearts and minds and lives, we will NEVER have that personal daily relationship with ALMIGHTY GOD that makes this life so amazing and wonderful.
Remember the verse above in 1 Corinthians 10:31 – He says even if we’re just eating and drinking – make sure we’re PLEASING and HONORING GOD. I sat there on that couch yesterday and said, “Reading this book isn’t honoring to God!” I know many people would take that same book and say, “What??? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this book!” But anything that takes our mind away from honoring God and thinking on things that are pleasing to Him is something I don’t want to find myself doing. I TRULY want and desire to KNOW HIM more each day! And with that goal in mind, EVERYTHING that I allow into my heart, mind, and life matters!
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)