What Goes In, Must Come Out!

Have you ever heard the saying, ' You become like the top 5 people you hang out with?' In the last 18 years of my marriage, I will have to admit that we have grown to become more like the other with every passing year. My OCD tendencies to have everything picked up have relaxed a bit, while Milo has developed some interesting obsessive traits with loading the dishwasher. More times than not, we will both be thinking the same thing even before anything is spoken and we can finish each other's sentences without even trying.

This week we have been looking at David in 2 Samuel 11:2-3.

One late afternoon, David got up from taking his nap and was strolling on the roof of the palace. From his vantage point on the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was stunningly beautiful.

David's sin didn't begin when he noticed a woman bathing, what got him into trouble was when he stopped to take a second, more observant look to see that she was stunningly beautiful. It was the second look that prompted him to act on what he saw, leading to a path of destruction. When you toy with sin, your evil desires often overpower you and this holds true to many areas of our lives.

I will have to admit, I am a junkie when it comes to the magazines you pick up when checking out at the grocery store; People, OK, InTouch, and the list goes on. I always say to myself, 'You are not going to buy a magazine!' as I unload my groceries from the cart. But one glance too long and I start to read the headlines, the teasers that get me curious as to what more is on the inside and more times than not, I toss one in.

I used to say that I only picked them up because I liked looking at the cool dresses, fashions and trends. However if I am truly honest, I am curious to read all of the gossip and probable lies about everyday humans just like you and me. Then I start sizing myself up to the air brushed, perfectly sculpted people inside and everything downward spirals from there. I like David, ponder to take a second look. While you may not think that it could be a sin, in God's eyes there is no ranking of sin. Sin is sin anyway you look at it. If you toy with sin, your evil desires often overpower you.

So I challenge you and myself today to take a good hard look at what you are putting into your mind and your body. After all, what goes in, must come out! Who are you spending your time with? What type of books are you reading? What are you watching on television? Are you becoming like the top 5 people you hang out with?

I love the advice given in Proverbs 4:25 - 27

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

In fact, I believe I am going to write this on at the bottom of my grocery list as a reminder to keep my eyes and thoughts focused on God. May be instead of reading the tabloids, I visit with the checkout person to find out more about them? Always remembering that we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18.

Blessings,

Jill