"You get out of it what you put into it!" I'm sure we've all heard this expression before. It means that we receive as a return in life according to what we have put into life. Another way of communicating this fact is to say that you reap whatever you sow. Certainly, this is a biblical concept and applies to every aspect of our lives.
Sometimes people are surprised at their own reactions to the difficult challenges that occur in their lives. They not only seem shocked when they find themselves in bad situations (situations that have been caused by their own poor choices), but occasionally people even appear to be taken off guard by how they themselves have responded to certain events or temptations in their life. When this happens, we must remind ourselves of one very important thing. We react the way we have trained ourselves to react. We do the things that we have meditated on and thought about doing. We execute the program that we have put into our own minds.
The mind and mental pictures play a very powerful role in our lives. If you don't believe me, ask a professional athlete. They are trained to picture an event before it happens. They "see" the race or the game before it takes place. They know that if they can imagine themselves succeeding, if they can see themselves winning, it is far more likely to actually take place. This is a valuable tool in training athletes, and it can also be a valuable tool in training us in our spiritual lives.
The Proverbs writer warns in Proverbs 4:23, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life." This tells us that we need to protect our heart or our mind. Jesus also warned about this in Matthew 15:18-19, "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders." So we know that our heart or mind plays an important role in our spiritual welfare. The question is, what are we putting into our minds? What are we feeding ourselves? How are we programming our minds?
Paul said in Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." Why should we do this? Because, if we are thinking about these things - true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, good, excellent, praiseworthy things - we will practice these things. We will react in a way that is true and honorable. We will behave in a pure and good way. How do we let our minds dwell on these things? By studying God's word and meditating upon it. Psalm 1:1-2 says, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."
Do we meditate upon God's law day and night? Do we think about the things we should be thinking about? Or do we fill our minds with things that we should not? Do we constantly pollute our minds with bad television programs, movies, and books? With things that are false, dishonorable, wrong, filthy, ugly, bad, poor, and shameful? If we do, we should not be surprised to find those things in our lives. Remember - garbage in, garbage out.
Do me one favor before forgetting about this article. Take a minute to figure up how much time you spend each week watching television. Now, take a minute to figure up how much time you spend each week meditating upon God's word. Do you need an adjustment?