The more you care about something, the more you talk about it. Look no further than someone’s social media account. What kinds of things do people talk about all of the time? I’m sure that family tops most of the lists. People are always sharing photos of their kids, spouses and even the family pet. There are always photos of food that people eat and photos of the dine out experience. People also love their sports teams. It doesn’t matter if it is college level basketball or professional football, someone is always posting something. Politics is another thing that lots of people love to talk about. There is always a meme promoting your political savior while blasting the other side.
The more you talk about something, the more your mind is focused on what you are talking about. Talking is an outward expression of the thoughts that we channel on the inside. People dwell on things that are important to them. People get excited to talk about things that they are passionate about or hold dearly to their heart. How often do Christians brag about God? When do Christians find time to talk about the wonderful creator that we have and how he has blessed our lives? Being thankful for “things” is great, but shouldn’t our energy be focused on thanking our creator instead?
The more you talk about garbage, the less you focus on God.
Covid was a perfect example of garbage in, garbage out. Rarely did I hear people praising God during covid. Instead of Bible verses covering social media, people were consumed by their fear. Their outward expression of their inward feelings were rank with the putrid smell of garbage that they spewed. Some people lived to post about the infection rate and death count. Others yelled at you to stay home and save lives. Others demanded that you wear a mask and get your jab otherwise you would be killing grandma. Lots of these fools that I witnessed were not found in the secular culture, but instead they were found in the Christian community.
You would think that self-proclaimed Christians would have their focus made on God and not of this world. You would think that these people who claim to follow Jesus would cling to their Bible instead of toilet paper. Gone were the pews filled with people proclaiming Jesus as King. Instead “online church” sprung up as a pathetic coping mechanism to baby people that rarely spoke of Jesus. The outward expression of these people did not demonstrate that Jesus was on their mind. Instead, the only thing consuming their thoughts and heart was their fear of death.
I do not care what excuse you make to coddle this behavior. I simply don’t want to hear it. You can’t undo past behaviors; you can only live in the now. So, let’s move forward to now. Do your actions speak of Jesus? Is he what consumes your mind? If not, here is a friendly reminder to check yourself. Do some personal accountability and self-reflection. If you claim to know and follow Jesus, then why are you not showing it? Yes, everything I mentioned at the beginning of this blog is important in some way shape or form. What is really important is Jesus. We should focus our thoughts and actions to promoting Jesus instead of things that do not have any Kingdom benefits.
Thoughts matter. Words matter. God can see our thoughts and know our heart without hearing our words. People will judge us by the fruit that we bear. Let both our thoughts and heart live for the Lord by returning to be a bond servant for Christ.
Hebrews 4:12 New American Standard Bible
12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.