When I was a young man my elders used to talk about “Garbage in, Garbage out.” We didn’t know about FoMo yet, mostly because there wasn’t that much happening to miss out on. But though the Internet and smart phones weren’t around yet, GiGo was still a thing. While Jesus taught that it’s what comes out of a man’s heart that defiles him, it’s still possible to give your heart more foul material to work with.
What a blessing it is to have so much virtuous content available to us, for learning, for encouragement, for equipping, with help for this present life and also for the life to come (1 Timothy 4:8). While it takes a little keyword knowledge to search for the right “how to” video, it has become more difficult to turn off the stream. The next episode starts playing automatically, the sidebar scrolls endlessly with related videos. With the stream comes debris, and sometimes the filth.
Paul prayed that the Colossians would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. He prayed that the Philippians would have affections that abounded still more and more in all knowledge and discernment so that they could approve what is excellent. He urged the Romans to be transformed by the renewing of their minds.
Watch your content diet, stop filling your soul with garbage. It is not good for you. Pluck out your eye (Matthew 5:29), set a screen time limit, delete the app. You may be a target of shrewd advertisers, but you are not a helpless victim.
And pray to desire the Scripture more than much fine gold. You are not of the world, you are Christ’s, and He prays that you would be sanctified in truth.
*as necessary