Sunday, June 22, 2008

Be careful, little eyes: Lesson from a child

"But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." (Matthew 15:18-19)

"Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you." (Luke 11:34-36, NIV)

"Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry." (Psalm 34:12-15, NIV)

"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be." (James 3:3-10, NIV)

It is a fact of life that whatever a person allows to occupy his mind will sooner or later determine his speech and his actions. Establishing wholesome thought patterns is very important for a Christian.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Philippians 4:8, NIV)

"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." (II Corinthians 10:5, ASV)

Take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. This is, in part, how we allow Jesus to be "the Lord of our lives". That gives us a pretty clear picture of the kind of music we SHOULDN'T listen to.

Following is a hilarious video containing a good, old-fashioned, basic biblical message (utilizing a song that used to be taught to Sunday School children), while, at the same time, addressing modern technology (specifically, the ipod).

4 comments:

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

In our Western culture there are sadly a lot of bad, and/or waste of time things to do.

Anonymous said...

TV and movies are also a means to introduce wicked thoughts. Standards are very different today than 50 years ago.

Jeff said...

In our Western culture there are sadly a lot of bad, and/or waste of time things to do.

Years ago, I gave up TV for 5 years, and my reading increased tremendously.

Jeff said...

TV and movies are also a means to introduce wicked thoughts. Standards are very different today than 50 years ago.

That is so true. People have become numb, lukewarm and nonchalant to things on TV or in movies (murder, rape, nudity, etc.) that used to shock audiences. Their consciences have been dulled in that respect.