A lid on the trash

Today I came across a little image with a trash can and the words next to it read, "Do not use your stomach as a trash can." Good advice. In fact, advice I take to heart and practice. I believe eating clean is fundamental for good health and taking care of the body. God gave us wonderful food found in nature with a multitude of flavors and textures. These foods have unique healing properties. They were made for our benefit and enjoyment. We don't need to rely on the chemical substances produced in some lab by some scientist who is looking for the next great breakthrough. That stuff is simply trash. We have been given beautiful and clean food to sustain us. Isn't God marvelous?

When I read this little phrase and looked at the little picture my mind immediately started writing a new phrase next to the same picture: "Do not use your mind as a trash can."
Plenty of people "eat clean." It is a popular movement in our culture. Community gardens are in vogue. It is "in" to eat obscure greens like kale and chard. That has become the way of sophisticated palates. Who would have thought it'd be cool to eat like a rabbit? Well, the day has come my friends.
But what about how we treat our minds? Do we take the same care in weeding out what passes through our mind's eye as we do in choosing what passes through our lips and into our stomachs? Is it "in" and "cool" to abstain from the perverse and dirty aspects of cultural and media influences? Are we feeding our minds with whatever we come across, whether or not it is actually good for us?
Unfortunately, I don't think our society gives much value to the mind's cleanliness. It doesn't take a genius or psychoanalyst to come to that conclusion. Just turn on the TV. The latest shows to win Emmys just the other night were Breaking Bad and Modern Family. Breaking Bad is apparently a hit crime drama. I've never seen it but usually crime involves blood, swearing, drugs and alcohol. I would feel safe in guessing this show includes all of the above.
I have seen Modern Family. They are modern alright. A homosexual couple with a young daughter was too modern for me. If that is modern than I'll take the stone age.
Sin, in all forms, is rationalized and celebrated in our culture. We feed that to our minds and the minds of children through the television, movies, music and books. Our radio waves are filled with rap that spews inappropriate language about women. The books that have become best sellers glamorize sex. Then they get turned into movies.
And this is what we put in our minds. We take the trash, filth and sin and actively tune in: Christians and non-Christians alike.
Dear reader, I challenge you to take a step of faith with me. Decide to stop treating your mind like a trash can. Tune out of the pop culture influences that glamorize what God has deemed destructive. If the Bible calls it an abomination or sin then don't buy into the lie that it can be entertainment. There is nothing entertaining about moral debasement.
God has given us an abundance of good and beneficial mind "food." The Bible is the best read possible. Church is a wonderful place to fellowship. Worship is an uplifting and glorifying sound. There is no shortage of sustenance for the mind. You don't need to resort to filling up on trash.
Today I am choosing to put the lid on the trash can. I am going to go to the garden of God's plentiful goodness. I am going to feast on His beneficial, healing and nutritious nourishment. I don't need the grub of this world. I have the daily bread of God. My mind will be forever full and satisfied. Will you join me?