Garbage In, Garbage Out

There is a fable of a hungry ass put between two bundles of hay. It looked at the one, then at the other, and could not decide which one to eat first, till it died of starvation. How foolish you might say? Just about as foolish as being doubled minded and indecisive in your ways; always caught between two opinions, until you die trying to decide, unable to make up your mind.

What a frustrating position to be in. One moment you’re living life in the Spirit and the next moment living a life of carnality. You just can’t decide; malnourishment of the soul, sin sickness, or a vibrant, healthy life of grace?

How long will you hold on to worldly pleasures, expecting to master them, but continually being overcome by them? Your mind is so fixed on the worldly pleasures and developed in them, that you can’t let go. The only remedy for this pull is a desperately needed renewed mindset. Paul gives the instruction in Romans 12:2 “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Your mind is like a computer; it responds to what’s programmed into it and spits out the data that you feed it. Change the old disk and put in a new one. I know this sounds a bit simplistic but it’s a practice that works. Let go of the oldies and put in the new and do it daily; the old disk is decayed and does not offer life in the Spirit.

Paul again writes, “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” 1st Corinthians 2:14. It is imperative for you to comprehend this because a Spirit controlled mindset gives you God’s input and victory where you’ve known only defeat.  What we download into our Spirit is vital to our impulses.

Dr. Hans Selye researched and popularized a tiny membrane in the back of our head known as the RAS: Reticular Activating System. Your RAS has a leading function: it moves you in the direction of your dominant thought at the moment. We naturally act on what fills our minds. With the preoccupation of a thought, we ultimately want to proceed on what fills our minds.

For instance, adolescents who had a higher level of exposure to violence had reduced levels of cognitive function. The more violence the adolescents saw the less thinking, learning, reasoning and emotional stamina they had. This explains the huge amount of violence between the ages of 12 and 24.  By then the average young person has seen more than 4,000 murders on TV, not including video games.

Garbage in garbage out; the computer retrieves what’s been stored.  Paul says it this way, “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, will reap eternal life” Galatians 6:8 NIV. Subsequently, for religion’s sake, how many church folk are cannibalistic in their thinking; man-eaters because they kill and devour one another. You may kill with the tongue as successfully as with the teeth.

What does the Apostle Paul say of those who bite and devour one another? Galatians 5:15 “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another.” It’s quite possible to kill and devour another’s influence by backbiting and evil speaking.

It’s been said, “There’s no weapon half as deadly as a Judas-kiss.” Such an un-Christian spirit is but a remnant of the cannibal age. Inconsistent professors, as well as weak minded thinkers, injure the Gospel more than a mocking critic or an infidel.

The garbage in garbage out mindset has demonstrated that it can’t survive without the powerful compulsions of the flesh, and it’s the enemy’s strategy to keep you sowing to the flesh and living in defeat. It’s time for every believer to live in the choice of his or her new nature, which you received at the time of salvation.

The old nature, which is rooted in selfishness, will always be in opposition with God and work against His purposes, as well as others who desire to serve Him.

As a Christian, seek God’s convicting power to be at work in your life to expose any area of carnality that has a predominant place of influence. Then resolve within your heart to walk in the Spirit and ask for God’s grace to enable and assist you in your desire to maintain life under spiritual truths and not carnal thinking.

The Puss Moth caterpillar becomes like the color of leaf and bark from which it feeds. In other words, its color in this way indicates the character of the food it eats. If we would be like Christ we must feed on Him. Our moral character will always manifest the color of our mental food.  Christ lived on the Word of God, His Father, and so maintained a life that was like God.

Christian, beloved of God, do you love Him, your Savior? Is He precious to you? Is His cause dear to you? Do you desire that He would be glorified in you and through you? Is your longing for souls to be saved?

Then feed on Him – the Bread of Life – and manifest His likeness. “Eat, O friends!” Song of Solomon 5:1.